Monti says he will lead centrists in Italian vote

Italy’s outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti says he is ready to lead a centrist coalition, ahead of February’s parliamentary elections.   The centre-left Democratic Party is currently leading the polls, and centre-right former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi also wants to return to power.   But Monti says he plans to re-draw the political landscape.   He said, “We are are not trying to cover a centre position between the left and the right sides and we are not trying to insert ourselves between two poles in a bipolar system whose limits have been evident in recent years. This is an attempt to break down some barriers, some boundaries and introduce new criteria for the bringing together of the forces of politics and civil society”.   As a senator for life, Monti cannot stand for election, but he is able to take part in the campaign and could be appointed prime minister in a new government.   A former European Commissioner, Monti was appointed at the head of Italy’s technocrat government last year to help avert financial crisis.