Opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi caused a stir in his centre-right alliance on Friday by apparently anointing rightist leader Gianfranco Fini as his likely successor.
Speaking to journalists in the small hours of Friday, the 70-year-old former premier spoke about his long-cherished hope of uniting the four key centre-right parties into a federation and possibly even a single party.
"If we form a single party I think that Fini's candidacy is the most prestigious and authoritative" to lead it, he said, adding that the former foreign minister would be "right" to have such aspirations.
Fini is leader of the rightist National Alliance (AN) party, the second largest in the opposition. He has stood by Berlusconi since the former media tycoon entered Italian politics in 1994.
Berlusconi, defeated by centre-left chief Romano Prodi in last April's general election, has hinted several times that he is unlikely to run for premier next time if the current legislature lasts the full five years.
Being premier involves "continuous sacrifice" and allows no time for a private life, he said on Friday. "It's a responsibility I'll happily leave to others".
His remarks about Fini's worthiness as a successor drew no applause from the regionalist Northern League and the centrist UDC, two allies who have already made it clear they are not interested in forming a single party.
"The League will never be part of a single party with Fini as the leader," said Northern League bigwig Roberto Maroni, adding that even hearing the possibility mentioned was like having "two fingers poked in our eyes".
He did not rule out that possibility of the League being part of a looser alliance, such as the 'federation' often referred to by Berlusconi.
Pierferdinando Casini, leader of the centrist UDC, appeared to feel the same way. Asked about Fini's late-night anointment, he said: "It doesn't concern me. I'm busy with other things".
Casini has already marked his distance from Berlusconi and his plans for a more tightly-knit opposition by staying away from a major rally organised by the former premier's Forza Italia party in Rome in December.
'OPTIMISTIC' ON FEDERATION.
Fini refused to comment when pressed by reporters for a reaction to Berlusconi's remarks.
He would only say that procedures aimed at creating a centre-right federation had begun. "Berlusconi approves and AN does too. We have to build it and I'm optimistic".
A consummate politician, he has led his party since it was a small hard-right formation built around the legacy of Mussolini's Fascists. Thirteen years ago, he led it out of the wilderness and into Berlusconi's first government as the broader and more moderate National Alliance.
Over the years, Fini has sought to carve out a separate identity from Berlusconi on reforms and judicial policy. He has been consistently voted as one of Italy's most popular politicians.
Fini was deputy premier throughout the 2001-2006 Berlusconi government. In November 2004 he took over the foreign minister's portfolio and held it until the end of the legislature.
Speculation about who will follow Berlusconi at the helm of the centre right surfaces regularly but until recently analysts have agreed with Berlusconi himself that there is no suitable candidate on the scene.
Talk of his exit from politics flared again last November when the leader collapsed during a speech at a political rally. Shortly afterwards he went to the United States to have a pace-maker fitted.
