Rome - The Italian government's linchpin communist allies voted yesterday to reject the 1999 budget and pull the plug on the Prime Minister, Mr Romano Prodi.
The situation has striking echoes of last autumn, when Communist Refoundation rejected the 1998 budget. Then, Mr Prodi offered to quit but finally thrashed out a deal with the Marxists, winning their backing in a subsequent confidence vote.
Most likely, political sources say, is that Mr Prodi will go to the Chamber of Deputies this week to request backing for budget and government, which Re foundation would deny. Mr Prodi would then tender his resignation to the head of state.