As Premier Romano Prodi visited Naples on Thursday, a bloody crime wave in the southern city continued unabated with the stabbing of a 34-year-old man.
Luigi Leonardi, who has a criminal record, was reported to be in a critical condition after being stabbed several times in the city centre in the early morning.
The latest incident came as Prodi arrived in Naples to discuss the crime emergency with city officials.
Prodi, who is considering sending the army into Naples, said in an open letter published by Neapolitan daily Il Mattino on Thursday that his government would "act immediately against this ruthless criminality which has no future".
He promised "tough action" against the Neapolitan crime syndicate known as the Camorra, as well as investment projects aimed at boosting the city's social and cultural life and reducing its 24.7% jobless rate.
Prodi said on Wednesday that he had doubts about the usefulness of sending in troops.
"You don't beat such problems by using the army," he said.
But other members of his centre-left governing coalition and several opposition parties maintain that troops are the only solution.
In the meantime, the Interior Ministry is sending in an extra 1,000 police to Naples and the surrounding region of Campania to help deal with the crime wave.
During his visit to the city, Prodi will hold talks with Naples Mayor Rosa Russo Jervolino, Campania regional government chief Antonio Bassolino, Naples Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe and local police chiefs.
At least 12 people have been murdered in and around Naples over the past 11 days, most of them as the result of Camorra clan feuding.
Since the start of the year, there have been more than 72 murders, 50 of them Camorra-linked.
Meanwhile, between January and July of this year, some 3,400 robberies and muggings were reported, an average of more than 15 a day.
Justice Minister Clemente Mastella has come under fire for championing a prisoner amnesty recently approved by parliament which led to the release of some 2,720 inmates from Campania's jails and 1,320 in Naples alone.
Many of the released prisoners have ties with the Camorra and six of the most recent murder cases involved convicts released under the amnesty.
