Premier Silvio Berlusconi went before parliament on Tuesday to seek its confidence for his new center-right government and stressed the need for dialogue with the opposition in order to achieve needed reforms.
In illustrating his government's program before the House, a copy of which he later delivered to the Senate, Berlusconi said that Italy had ''no time to lose'' in adopting institutional and economic reforms.
Italians sent a clear message to its political class in last month's elections, he observed, that they wanted both the government and the opposition ''to do their jobs'' in the interest of the nation.
The premier praised the opposition's decision to set up a shadow cabinet and said this would be ''useful'' in finding common ground on ''modifications to the institutional apparatus''.
On the subject of dialogue between the government and the opposition, Berlusconi said ''this dialogue must start immediately, right after the confidence vote. We're ready''.
According to the premier, a consensus already existed between the government and opposition on the need to increase the powers of the premier and the government, modify parliamentary procedures, reduce the number of MPs, give the Senate and House different functions, decentralise government and modify the electoral system.
Berlusconi said his government's program did not promise miracles but included ''little and big things'' including resolving the trash problem in Naples, abolishing real estate tax on the primary home, reducing taxes on overtime pay,and bolstering law and order.
''This country needs to get back on track because it has everything it needs to do so. This new era of the republic must be one centered on growth,'' the premier said.
Turning his attention to foreign policy, Berlusconi said he wanted Italy to be ''a pillar in the friendship between Europe and the United States''.
He added that it was ''in our vital interest to reduce the hotbeds of tension in the Middle East'' and that Israel's right to exist ''is mirrored in the undeniable right of Palestinians to build an independent state and a democracy capable of uprooting all forms of fundamentalist intolerance and violence''.
In regard to Italy's ailing national carrier Alitalia, Berlusconi said it needed to be put back on its feet ''without selling it off cheap or re- nationalizing it''.
Berlusconi concluded by asking for ''God's help'' but also recalled Machiavelli's observation that ''fortune must be encouraged by a good dose of courage and virtue''.
Berlusconi's address received a generally positive reaction from the opposition, with Piero Fassino, the shadow foreign minister and former head of the Democratic Left, observing that his actions will speak louder than words.
''We appreciated the premier's change in tone, which was far from the aggressive slant of the past and during the election campaign. His address was sober and respectful of the opposition,'' Fassino said.
He added that while the center left would not vote in favor of the government in the confidence vote, ''our opposition will not be prejudicial nor shortsighted or deaf''.
''Politics must live up to the expectations of the nation and I hope this government can do this. We intend to do our part,'' Fassino concluded.
Democratic Party Senate whip Anna Finocchiaro also welcomed Berlusconi's low-profile tone but said his address was ''a little too vague''.
''Let's say we now have the cover but we still don't have the book,'' she observed.
''The premier's address was full of soundbites but there were no concrete ideas nor clear proposals. Our opposition will depend on what the government actually intends to do,'' she added.
The confidence vote in the House is expected on Wednesday and in the Senate on Thursday.
