Mario Monti to lead Italy centrist coalition

Italian Premier Mario Monti has announced he is heading a new campaign coalition made of up centrists, business leaders and pro-Vatican forces who back his "ethical" vision of politics, paving the way for him to possibly secure a second term if his alliance wins big in parliamentary elections.

After a four-hour huddle with supporters on Friday, Monti stopped short of saying he is running as a candidate for the premiership, but said the February 24-25 ballot list would carry the banner ''Monti Agenda for Italy'' or something similar.

"'A new political formation is born,'' Monti declared.

The announcement clarifies Monti's involvement in the vote, after he said on Sunday that he may be willing to seek a second term if a credible political force backed his reform agenda.

The former European Commissioner, appointed at the head of a technocrat government last year to save Italy from financial crisis, said he was willing to accept "being named as leader of the coalition".

Monti, whose status as senator for life means he does not have to run for a seat in parliament himself, said the grouping could win a "significant result" in the election.

The announcement clears up some of the uncertainty hanging over the election and puts Monti at the centre of a three-way contest for power with the centre-left Democratic Party, which is leading in the polls and Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom party.

One opinion poll published since the weekend estimated that a centrist coalition led by Monti could hope to gain between 11 and 15 percent of the vote.

The 69-year-old economic professor has been widely credited for restoring Italy's international credibility after the
scandal-plagued Berlusconi years.

However, ordinary Italians have become increasingly tired of the mix of tax hikes and spending cuts he has imposed to repair Italy's battered public finances.

The Democratic Party received a boost earlier on Friday when anti-mafia prosecutor Pietro Grasso appeared alongside party leader Pier Luigi Bersani, saying he wanted to be "at the service of a country that has reached the maximum of confusion".

In stark contrast, Silvio Berlusconi continued to be troubled by his past, with press reports of his 36m euro-per-year divorce settlement with his ex-wife, Veronica Lario.

In another potential setback for Berlusconi, an interview with him that was due to go out on Rai TV's main evening news was replaced by his successor's live news conference, La Repubblica newspaper reported.

Monti was optimistic that the electorate would stick with him. He told an impromptu news conference that he expected his supporters could win a "significant result" in the election.

"The traditional split between left and right has historic and symbolic value," he said, "but does not highlight the real alliance that Italy needs - one that focuses on Europe, and on reforms".

"I'm with Italians who want change," he later tweeted.

The head of the Future and Freedom (FLI) party, Gianfranco Fini tweeted that the Monti coalition opened up a "prospect of renewal" while Christian Democrat leader Pierferdinando Casini said it was not so much "a personal party but a hope for Italians".

A spokesman for Berlusconi's party, Angelino Alfano, said Monti's remarks were a clear attempt to hide plans for an alliance with the left.