Marini tests water for interim government.

The speaker of the senate, Franco Marini, is continuing talks with political parties to establish whether there is enough cross-party support to form an interim government following the fall of the Romano Prodi administration last month. President of the republic Giorgio Napolitano has tasked Marini with testing the waters because he would prefer to hold off a general election until an interim government has passed much-needed electoral reforms. The current electoral system, approved under Silvio Berlusconi