The last thing Italy needs is an election without a new law.

The curse of Italy's fractured political system threatens to strike again, with the withdrawal of one of the smallest political parties from Romano Prodi's centre-left coalition. It means that Mr Prodi has lost his wafer-thin majority in the Senate, the upper house of parliament, and for the umpteenth time since he came to power in 2006, he has been forced to seek a vote of confidence in a desperate bid to stay in power.