Italian prime minister-in-waiting Romano Prodi is already struggling to contain a row within his centre-left coalition that augurs ill for his future government.
Opponents always said Mr Prodi would be unable to hold together his broad alliance, which spans diehard communists to Roman Catholic moderates, but no one expected the cracks to emerge even before Mr Prodi had formally taken office.
The fight centres on who should be appointed speakers of the upper and lower houses of parliament. These two posts are highly prestigious, and Mr Prodi's three main coalition partners are all pressing hard for their own candidates to be elevated.
The major tussle is over the lower house, with two political heavyweights - Communist Refoundation head Fausto Bertinotti and the chairman of the Democrats of the Left (DS), Massimo D'Alema - demanding the job.
La Stampanewspaper quoted Mr Bertinotti as saying he might withdraw from Mr Prodi's so-called Union alliance if he doesn't get the job, while the DS has indicated that as the largest party within the centre-left coalition, it deserves the job.
Mr Prodi said today he was working to resolve the dispute, saying all sides had promised to accept his decision.
"It is not going to be a difficult decision, even if it is obviously going to be a painful one," said Mr Prodi, whose previous term as Italian prime minister ended after just two years in 1998 when Mr Bertinotti turned against him.