ROME, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Representatives from the Five Star Movement (M5S), which holds the balance of power in Italy after national elections, said Tuesday a "listening phase" arose from mediation talks with representatives of the center-left Democratic Party (PD).
"We came here to start works of the parliamentary machine ... by creating a transparent work method to make parliament function," the M5S's leader in the lower house, Roberta Lombardi, said in a video broadcasted on the website of the Internet-based movement after meeting the PD's group.
She added that the names of the M5S's candidates for the presidency of the Senate and the lower chamber, the two highest-ranked offices in Italy after presidency of the republic, will be announced by Wednesday night.
"Our candidates will be people with total absence of conflicts of interest for the role they will play," Lombardi stressed adding that the movement will take into account the will of the over 8 million voters who led it to be the most voted party in the lower house.
"There was a sharing of the overall objective to put in motion the parliament's machine with its subdivisions, on a long and new path," one of the PD representatives, Luigi Zanda, was quoted as saying by local media at the end of the meeting.
The PD's coalition led by Pier Luigi Bersani, a former communist son of a mechanic, came first at last month's vote but failed to gain a working majority in the Senate.
Riding a wave of public disgust over the scandal-hit political world, the M5S of former comedian Beppe Grillo won more than a quarter of national votes. The movement has repeatedly ruled out voting confidence in a Bersani-led executive, saying it was ready instead to form a government on it own.
In response to Grillo's challenge, Bersani put forward a program for a "government of change" that contained some points similar to the M5S's manifesto, including reform of political system, green economy development and improving education.
On Tuesday, Bersani also opened to the possibility to commit to renouncing public funding like Grillo's grassroots movement.
The PD, which had ruled out allying with the center-right led by former premier Silvio Berlusconi, said last week that Italians will have to go to the polls again later this year if it fails to form a government.
The new parliament is set to hold its first session on Friday, after which President Giorgio Napolitano will begin formal talks to give a mandate to form a government. Should the attempt fail to gain enough support from parliament, Napolitano may appoint a caretaker cabinet.
Italy's political uncertainty has created market uncertainty beyond Europe after what was seen by local experts as an "inconclusive" election.
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