Calderoli, a member of the anti-immigrant Lega Nord party and until Friday minister of Reform, has been forced to resign by Premier Berlusconi following his appearance on TV with a t-shirt reproducing the controversial Muhammad cartoons.
The TV appearance was widely condemned by both government and opposition as irresponsible and unacceptable but Calderoli has refused to apologise for his actions which have already created a series of problems for Italian embassies and businesses throughout Islamic countries.
A demonstration in Libya, in the port city of Benghazi, on Saturday outside the Italian consulate led to the death of at least 10 people, when police confronted protesters who had set fire to the building.
His party, the Lega Nord, are well-known for its extreme positions on migration and on Islam in general have shown complete support to Calderoli refusing to release a statement condemning his actions as irresponsible.
Today the party is meeting to discuss whether they should exit the right-wing alliance led by Berlusconi's Forza Italia party and run for elections on their own. While they only have a small portion of the vote, between 3 and 5 percent, their exit could mean that the right-wing alliance stands a slim chance of gaining a clear majority over the left-wing alliance.
