Berlusconi and Rivals in Deadlock Over Presidential Candidate

The first round of voting for Italy's new president ended in failure last night after Silvio Berlusconi and his allies ruled out a compromise candidate put forward by the centre-left, the veteran former minister Giorgio Napolitano. Mr Berlusconi's supporters rallied behind Gianni Letta, a long-standing associate of the tycoon. But he polled only 369 votes in the electoral college of more than a 1,000 - far short of the needed two-thirds majority.

After Mr Berlusconi's rejection of Mr Napolitano, centre-left leaders told their supporters to cast blank votes. Mr Berlusconi, who lost last month's general election, said the decision to put up Mr Napolitano was "simply indecent", but centre-left leaders were hoping that some of his followers might yet vote for the 80-year-old politician, who is popular on both sides of Italy's deep political divide.

Electing a president is an essential step towards resolving the difficult political situation brought about by last month's close-run general election. Only the president can name Italy's next prime minister and the incumbent, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, reaches the end of his term next week.

The centre-left leaders hit on Mr Napolitano after Mr Berlusconi earlier refused their first choice, Massimo D'Alema, a former prime minister. But Mr Napolitano, like Mr D'Alema, is an ex-communist and Mr Berlusconi has said that no one with such a background should preside over an Italy that the general election results showed was evenly divided.

Although the right has a minority of seats in the electoral college, made up of national parliamentarians and regional delegates, it can effectively veto candidates in the first three rounds because of the requirement for a two-thirds majority. After that a simple majority will do.

The threat of political instability means the president will have a crucial role. Mr Berlusconi's rightwing alliance won more votes than the centre-left, but failed to get as many parliamentary seats.