The World - News from Feb. 23, 1989

Italian Prime Minister Ciriaco De Mita lost the leadership of the Christian Democratic Party in a vote at the end of a five-day party congress. Arnaldo Forlani, who took 84% of the delegate votes, will replace De Mita. The prime minister had strongly opposed Forlani, a former prime minister who led the party 16 years ago. The vote marked a return to a more traditional leadership of the party. DeMita is considered part of the party’s left wing, and Forlani is a moderate. The new party secretary promised not to bring down De Mita’s 10-month-old coalition government.