TWO Italian police officers and a passerby were shot and wounded outside the prime minister's office in Rome as a new government was being sworn in just a mile away.
One of the prosecutors working on the case said the gun- man, who was overpowered by Carabinieri at the scene, had a political motivation. "His intention was to strike politicians," said deputy Rome prosecutor Pierfilippo Laviani.
The gunman was identified by police as 49-year-old Luigi Preiti, an unemployed man from the southern region of Calabria.
Having fired several shots at the two officers on duty in Palazzo Chigi outside the premier's office, Preiti shouted "shoot me, shoot me" to other police nearby.
One of the two officers was seriously hurt as he was shot in the neck, while the other was shot in the leg. However, neither they nor the passerby who was also shot were said to be in a life-threatening condition.
The shooting appeared to be an isolated incident, said Angelino Alfano, who was sworn in yesterday as Interior Minister in Prime Minister Enrico Letta's new government.
"An initial examination of the incident suggests that this can be considered as an isolated act," Alfano said.
However, he added that protective measures had been stepped up around other potential targets as several politicians issued warnings that the fevered political climate may have contributed to the shootings.
On Saturday, new premier Mr Letta, 46, the moderate deputy head of the Democratic Party (PD), ended months of stalemate following February's inconclusive election when he united political rivals in a broad coalition.
The mix of centre-right and centre-left politicians and unaffiliated technocrats was largely welcomed in Italy's mainstream press, especially for the record number of seven female ministers and the relatively young average age.
However, the political risks Mr Letta faces were spelled out by an ally of centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi who is a key player in the coalition.
Renato Brunetta, lower house leader of Berlusconi's People of Freedom party (PDL), said the government would fall unless Mr Letta promised in his maiden speech to urgently abolish an unpopular housing tax and repay the 2012 levy to taxpayers.
Mr Letta is expected to set out his government's plans in parliament today and will then need to win a vote of confidence in both houses to be fully empowered.
"If the Prime Minister doesn't make this precise commitment, we will not give him our support in the vote of confidence," Mr Brunetta said.
Mr Brunetta said that in negotiations for the formation of the government Mr Letta had "given his word" on the abolition and repayment of the tax, which would leave an €8 billion (£6.75bn) hole in public accounts.
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