Italian PM Prodi Loses Vote of Confidence

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi lost a critical vote of confidence Thursday in the Senate, which could mean the end of his government in Rome.

Prodi must now resign, the BBC reported. President Giorgio Napolitano, who had suggested Prodi not risk a Senate confidence vote, will decide whether to hold an immediate election or name a caretaker government.

The prime minister received 156 votes, while 161 senators voted against him and one abstained. On Wednesday, Prodi survived a vote in the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies.

Prodi called for the votes of confidence on Tuesday after Clemente Mastella, the former justice minister, withdrew his support, leaving the prime minister without a majority in the Senate.

Italy has had more than 60 governments since the end of World War II. Prodi has been prime minister since his center-left coalition defeated the center-right coalition led by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.