Berlusconi says "No" to Italian election delay

By Stephen Brown and Silvia Aloisi

ROME (Reuters) - Italian opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi said on Monday he would not support efforts to form an interim government to overhaul voting rules, making a snap election appear inevitable.

"We hope -- and we think that's what will happen -- that after these consultations the head of state will call elections immediately, because the country quickly needs an efficient government to solve its grave problems," he said.

Berlusconi, who has been prime minister twice, and his main conservative ally Gianfranco Fini met Senate speaker Franco Marini on Monday for the final stage of talks requested by the president to seek cross-party support for electoral reform.

If successful, President Giorgio Napolitano wanted Marini to form an interim government which would oversee such changes.

But the centre right, sensing a quick return to power after centre-left leader Romano Prodi resigned on Jan. 24, has dug in its heels and said reform can wait. A vote could be held as early as April.

Walter Veltroni, Prodi's heir as centre-left leader who would face Berlusconi in an election, seemed pessimistic on the chances of success for 74-year-old Marini, a Catholic centre-leftist with broad appeal.

"I think this risks being a missed opportunity for Italian politics, rushing towards elections with a flawed law," said Veltroni after meeting Marini, who expects to report back to Napolitano this week.

In a country that has had on average a government a year for the last six decades, business leaders pleaded for stability following Prodi's resignation after just 20 months in office.