Romano Prodi stumbled at his first parliamentary hurdle today when his centre-left candidate failed to secure an absolute majority in a vote for the speaker of Italy's upper house.
The result on the first day of the new parliament meant the upper house Senate will have to hold a second and possibly even a third vote to decide who will take the prestigious position.
The Italian prime-minister-in-waiting's broad coalition secured just a two-seat majority in the Senate at the April 9th/10th general election, and the vote for the speaker is seen as a litmus test of its ability to govern.
The centre-left speaker candidate, former union leader Franco Marini, won 157 votes against 140 for 87-year-old elder statesman Giulio Andreotti.
A further 25 votes went to other candidates or were declared void. However, the 17-vote advantage was not enough for Mr Marini to take the post at the first ballot, where an absolute majority of 162 votes was needed in the 322-seat house.
Senators will hold a second ballot later today and if that fails to produce a winner, a third ballot will be held tomorrow where a simple majority will suffice.
Some centre-left politicians have warned that if Mr Marini should lose the race, Mr Prodi would not be able to guarantee political stability and that early elections might be inevitable.