Italy's ruling centre-left coalition was deeply divided on Wednesday over the planned enlargement of a United States military base in the northeastern city of Vicenza.
Encouraged by centrists, Premier Romano Prodi caused shock and anger on the left of his nine-party coalition on Tuesday by saying the government will voice no objections to the enlargement project.
He repeated that position on Wednesday as he spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a visit to Bulgaria. "The government has taken a definitive position and on this there is nothing else to say," he said.
The premier also downplayed suggestions that the issue could cause a "political crisis".
Back in Rome, Welfare Minister Paolo Ferrero, a prominent member of the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC), said equally bluntly: "I am against the enlargement of the base. I think a referendum among inhabitants would be the best solution."
Greens and another communist party, the PDCI, also urged Prodi to push local administrators in Vicenza to organise a referendum on the question.
Vicenza's council has thrown out proposals to hold a referendum even though local polls have shown that 84% of citizens would like to have a say on the issue.
The centre-right city administration approved the expansion of the base in a narrow vote last October.
According to Mayor Enrico Hullweck, it was obliged to do so because the plan had already been green lighted by the previous government of Silvio Berlusconi.
Announcing his position on Tuesday, Prodi also said his hands were tied by the Berlusconi government's decision.
Interior Minister Giulio Amato has also underlined the tricky diplomatic situation which would be created if Italy went back on a commitment made to its American allies.
The American military base in Vicenza currently houses 2,600 troops. The expansion project involves building barracks at the city's Dal Molin airport to accommodate 1,800 more US soldiers who are currently stationed in Germany.
Shortly after Prodi revealed his government's position, a State Department spokesman in Washington expressed the "appreciation" of the US administration.
Local people opposed to the enlargement blocked railway lines at Vicenza on Tuesday night.
But on Wednesday a counter-demonstration was organised in front of the parliament building in Rome, where about 300 people from the Veneto region around Vivenza staged a sit-in in support of the expansion.
Calls for a referendum are complicated by disagreements over who should call such a poll, the national government or the local one.
Vicenza's mayor said it was a matter for national government, while in Rome several centre-left MPs said the opposite.
Meanwhile, feelings in the leftwing parties of Prodi's coalition ran high. PRC leader Franco Giordano said in a press interview on Wednesday that he was ready to march with protestors against the base.
Minister Ferrero noted that in the programme signed by centre-left parties before 2006 elections there was a commitment not to increase "military servitude".
