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The Berlusconi II Cabinet was the 57th cabinet of the Italian Republic, and the first cabinet of the XIV Legislature. It took office following the 2001 elections, and held office from 11 June 2001 until 23 April 2005, a total of 1,412 days, or 3 years, 10 months and 12 days. It held office for the longest period in the history of the Republic, and for the second longest period in the history of unified Italy since 1861 (outlasted only by the Mussolini government). During its long tenure, its composition changed significantly. Following the poor performance of the centrist parties in the Italian regional elections of 2005, most of the ministers of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats and the New PSI resigned from the government, which was succeeded by the Berlusconi III Cabinet. ==Formation== In 2001 Berlusconi again ran as leader of the centre-right coalition House of Freedoms ((イタリア語:La Casa delle Libertà)), which included the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats, the Lega Nord, the National Alliance and other parties. Berlusconi's success in the May 2001 general election led to him becoming Prime Minister once more, with the coalition receiving 45.4% of the vote for the Chamber of Deputies and 42.5% for the Senate. On the television interviews programme ''Porta a Porta'', during the last days of the electoral campaign, Berlusconi created a powerful impression on the public by undertaking to sign a so-called ''Contratto con gli Italiani'' ((英語:Contract with the Italians)), an idea copied outright by his advisor Luigi Crespi from the Newt Gingrich's Contract with America introduced six weeks before the 1994 US Congressional election, which was widely considered to be a creative masterstroke in his 2001 campaign bid for prime ministership. In this solemn agreement, Berlusconi claimed his commitment on improving several aspects of the Italian economy and life. Firstly, he undertook to simplify the complex tax system by introducing just two tax rates (33% for those earning over 100,000 euros, and 23% for anyone earning less than that figure: anyone earning less than 11,000 euros a year would not be taxed); secondly, he promised to halve the unemployment rate; thirdly, he undertook to finance and develop a massive new public works programme. Fourthly, he promised to raise the minimum monthly pension rate to 516 euros; and fifthly, he would suppress the crime wave by introducing police officers to patrol all local zones and areas in Italy's major cities. Berlusconi undertook to refrain from putting himself up for re-election in 2006 if he failed to honour at least four of these five promises. The government obtained the confidence of the senate on 20 June 2001 with 175 votes in favour, 133 against and 5 abstentions,〔(Senato della Repubblica - XIV Legislatura - Seduta n. 6 )〕 and the confidence of the Chamber of Deputies on 21 June 2001 with 351 votes in favour, 261 against and 1 abstention.〔(Camera dei Deputati - XIV Legislatura - Seduta n. 6 )〕 Opposition parties claim Berlusconi was not able to achieve the goals he promised in his ''Contratto con gli Italiani''. Some of his partners in government, especially the National Alliance and the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats have admitted the Government fell short of the promises made in the agreement, attributing the failure to an unforeseeable downturn in global economic conditions. Berlusconi himself has consistently asserted that he achieved all the goals of the agreement, and said his Government provided ''un miracolo continuo'' (a continuous miracle) that made all 'earlier governments pale' (by comparison). He attributed the widespread failure to recognize these achievements to a campaign of mystification and vilification in the printed media, asserting that 85% of newspapers were opposed to him. Luca Ricolfi, an independent analyst, held that Berlusconi had managed to maintain only one promise out of five, the one concerning minimum pension levels. The other four promises were not, in Luca Ricolfi’s view, honoured. In particular, the undertakings on the tax simplification and the reduction of crime. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Berlusconi II Cabinet」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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