ITALY: In a move that may be indicative of internal government tensions, Italian Justice Minister Mr Claudio Scajola has resigned, stating he had done so because he had lost the "full confidence" of the centre-right government majority.
The Prime Minister, Mr Silvio Berlusconi, appointed Mr Giuseppe Pisanu to replace Mr Scajola.
Mr Pisanu, a member of Berlusconi's Forza Italy party, was previously a minister without portfolio in charge of updating government programs.
Mr Scajola had been caught up in an ongoing public row regarding the murder last March of government advisor, Marco Biagi, shot dead in Bologna in a killing claimed by Red Brigade activists. Last week, it emerged Mr Biagi had repeatedly expressed concern about his personal safety prior to his death and had written to various public figures urgently requesting the re-instatement of a police escort.
Mr Scajola has not only been unable to satisfactorily explain why Mr Biagi's bodyguard was lifted last July but he also further aggravated his position by allegedly telling two newspapers last weekend that the late Mr Biagi was "a pain in the ass who wanted his contract renewed". That latter remark prompted calls for Mr Scajola's resignation not only from the centre-left opposition ranks but also from sections of the centre-right government coalition, in particular the ex-Fascist Alleanza Nazionale party led by Deputy Prime Minister Mr Gianfranco Fini.
Calling his decision a "necessary act of duty", Mr Scajola, in his letter of resignation, once more apologised to the Biagi family for having contributed to "renewing their pain".
He formally resigned just hours before Mr Berlusconi was due to address parliament on the issue.
Mr Scajola (54) has proved himself to be a key element in the winning Berlusconi political machine. Born into a Christian Democrat family, he twice served as Mayor in the northern city of Imperia before being first elected to parliament in the ranks of Mr Berlusconi's Forza Italia party in 1996.
He is the second cabinet minister and fourth senior government figure to part company with Mr Berlusconi's government since it took office in June last year.
Mr Scajola has been credited with a radical re-organisation of the party and was widely perceived as one of the major architects of Mr Berlusconi's election victory in May of last year
In January, foreign minister and former World Trade Organisation head, Mr Renato Ruggiero, resigned in the wake of tensions with Mr Berlusconi and because of the allegedly Eurosceptic attitude of cabinet colleagues including Treasury Minister Mr Giulio Tremonti regarding the introduction of the euro.
Last December, controversial junior justice minister Mr Carlo Taormina resigned after calling for the arrest of magistrates who had brought corruption charges against Mr Berlusconi.