Italy's opposition leader says he favors giving legal status to unmarried couples

News 2005-09-13 Italy's opposition leader says he favors giving legal status to unmarried couples The Italian opposition leader expected to challenge Premier Silvio Berlusconi in nex

The Italian opposition leader expected to challenge Premier Silvio Berlusconi in next year's election favors giving legal status to unmarried couples and will push to include the proposal in his center-left coalition's platform. The pledge by Romano Prodi appeared in a letter sent over the weekend to Italian gay rights group Arcigay.

Italy, an overwhelmingly Catholic country that hosts the Vatican, does not recognize unions between unmarried couples, including same-sex relationships. Gay and lesbian associations have been pushing for common-law couples to have legal recognition in hopes that the move might pave the way for granting legal status to gay couples as well. "I share with other party leaders of the [center-left] coalition the hypothesis of an overall proposal dealing with, regulating, and solving the issue of de facto couples that are based on a bond other than marriage," Prodi said in his letter. "This will certainly find its place in the final program of the Union," as the center-left coalition is known, said Prodi.

The comments were welcomed by Arcigay. Prodi, a former premier and EU Commission president, is widely expected to be Berlusconi's challenger in the election, to be held in mid 2006. His center-left coalition is leading in opinion polls. (AP)

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