Bersani Wins President’s Mandate in Push for Deal
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Pier Luigi Bersani won a mandate to seek backing to form Italy’s next government from the nation’s president, who urged him to compromise with rival Silvio Berlusconi.
Bersani, leader of the biggest bloc in parliament, will become prime minister if he overcomes a shortfall in support in the Senate, according to the mandate given to him late yesterday by President Giorgio Napolitano. The votes Bersani lacks in the upper house could be provided by Berlusconi, the former premier who leads the second-largest contingent of lawmakers.