Government divisions over plans to enlarge an American military base in the northern city of Vicenza widened on Monday, with several allies of Premier Romano Prodi renewing demands for a local referendum on the issue.
On Saturday, more than 70,000 people protested against the base's expansion, marching through the streets of Vicenza in a demo supported by hard-leftists and environmentalists in Prodi's centre-left government.
Prodi praised the demo as "legitimate and important" but stressed there could be no backpedalling on his decision not to oppose the base enlargement.
But the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC), the Italian Communists' Party (PDCI) and the Greens, three parties in Prodi's nine-way coalition, said the government needed to reconsider given the size and success of the protest.
The parties were unappeased by comments from US officials that Washington was willing to revise building plans in order to minimise the impact on the city and its residents.
Environment Minister and Green leader Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio said that "the people of Vicenza must be given the chance to express themselves democratically... It's obvious that they are against the base... A referendum is the only answer".
PRC leader Franco Giordano, whose party is the third largest in the governing coalition, said that "a government is strong when it has the courage to reconsider its positions in the wake of a mass demo".
He said Prodi had to talk to the protesters and discuss their objections.
Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi, a top member of the PDCI, said that "a referendum is the most sensible course of action".
PDCI chief Oliviero Diliberto, who together with Giordano attended the Saturday rally, said that "a government which is capable of listening is a stronger not weaker one. If the government doesn't listen to these protesters, it will pay for it in the next elections".
Democratic Left heavyweight Gavino Angius, whose party is the largest in government, told reporters that the government should have "thought things through more carefully before consenting to the base's enlargement".
But other Prodi allies urged the premier to stand firm and make Italy's ties with the US his priority.
Justice Minister Clemente Mastella, who heads the centrist, Catholic UDEUR party, said that "we have to respect our international commitments and political relations with the US", a line that was also taken by the Radicals.
Prodi stressed on Saturday the importance of Italy's alliance with the US and NATO.
"I decided not to modify our 50-year-old defence policy... I have always said our foreign policy rests on three pillars - the United Nations, the European Union and NATO," said Prodi, who won last April's general election.
Prodi announced last month that he would not object to US plans to expand the base, arguing that it was diplomatically impossible to go back on the informal consent given to Washington by the previous, Silvio Berlusconi-led government.
Surveys show that some 70% of Vicenza's 115,000 residents are against expanding the base.
The Vicenza council has thrown out proposals to hold a referendum on the base's fate even though local polls have shown that 84% of locals would like to have a say on the issue.
The old Vicenza base currently houses some 2,750 troops.
The expansion project involves building barracks at the Dal Molin airport on the other side of the city to accommodate 2,100 more US soldiers who are currently stationed in Germany.
Washington's aim is to unite its 173rd Airborne Brigade, which is divided at the moment between Vicenza and two bases in Germany.
If Prodi had nixed the plan, the Vicenza base would have been shut down altogether and American transferred to Germany.
But Vicenza residents fear an enlarged base will strain the city and its resources and possibly make it a target in the event of a military conflict or terrorist attack.
They are also concerned about the impact on a city which boasts a host of buildings and villas by Renaissance architect Andrea Palladino and is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites.
Environmentalists stress that the base's enlargement would involved the destruction of one of the city's main green areas.
There have been repeated demonstrations by locals against the base expansion plan.
But there have also been smaller protests by those who argue that Vicenza's economy will suffer if the base is closed and that more than 1,200 locals who currently work at the base will lose their jobs.
The centre-right opposition is for the base's expansion and has criticised the protesters as "anti-American". It has also blasted the government for its divided stance on the issue.
Opposition chief Berlusconi said in a press interview on Monday that "anti-American sentiment is now dictating the government's policies".
