Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's office denied reports on Thursday that he was plotting to ditch his troublesome centrist coalition allies, who have spent much of the summer recess sniping at his leadership qualities.
With a general election due by May, Italy's political parties are already jostling for prominence ahead of official campaigning and seeking to finalise their strategy plans.
The Union of Christian Democrats (UDC), a centrist party within Italy's coalition government, has repeatedly urged a change of direction from Berlusconi in recent weeks and questioned whether he should lead them into the election.
Italian newspapers reported on Thursday that the prime minister was furious with the constant complaining and quoted him as telling other allies that they needed to jettison the UDC, "making it clear that they appear to be the traitors".
Berlusconi's office denied on Thursday that there were any plans "to snare the UDC" and accused newspapers of seeking to provoke discord within the centre-right alliance.
The statement is unlikely to end debate about the future of the UDC, with its leadership demanding concessions from Berlusconi and hinting that they might run alone at the 2006 ballot unless they gain some measure of satisfaction.
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