Monti set to join political battle Mario Monti, Italy's technocrat prime minister, has signalled his readiness to plunge into politics to defend his reform agenda by running in elections early next year leading an alliance of centrist pro-European parties. Mr Monti indicated his intention in a meeting on Wednesday with Pier Ferdinando Casini, head of the small UDC party, and Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the head of Ferrari who has launched his own civic movement in support of the prime minister, according to three sources close to the talks. "Monti would be the political chief of the operation," one source said. However, Mr Monti had not made a final commitment and he was only expected to make a formal declaration, possibly this weekend, after the 2013 budget law was approved and parliament dissolved. Whether the unelected Mr Monti will enter politics has been the issue dominating Italy since he announced on December 8 that he would resign early. His unexpected move followed the decision by Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister, to withdraw his centre-right party's support for the government in parliament. Elections are expected in late February, about a month ahead of schedule. The formalities of how Mr Monti would run for office have yet to be worked out. Already guaranteed a place in parliament as a senator for life, the former economics professor cannot stand as a candidate, but he could lend his name to an alliance of separate groups or head his own list. Opinion polls indicate that such an alliance would have little chance of winning the elections, but it could emerge in a strong position to negotiate a significant role in a coalition government with the centre-left Democratic party. Most polls give the Democrats more than 30 per cent of the vote, with a hypothetical Monti-led centrist alliance vying for second place with the People of Liberty and the anti-establishment Five Star Alliance led by Beppe Grillo, an activist comedian. The prospect of Mr Monti entering the campaign has rattled both Pier Luigi Bersani, leader of the Democrats, and Mr Berlusconi who both fear losing the middle ground of undecided "moderate" voters. The outcome could also lead to a further fragmentation of parliament. Under Italy's electoral system, a victory for the Democrats and their leftwing allies would guarantee them a majority in the lower house. However, Mr Berlusconi, taking a populist tax-cutting and anti-Germany tack, could deny the Democrats a majority in the senate where bonus seats for the winners are allocated on a regional rather than national basis. Mr Bersani, a pragmatic former communist, has previously made clear he would prefer Mr Monti not to enter the race, but he has started to soften his opposition "What ever decision Monti takes we will respect it," Mr Bersani told the Financial Times after meeting senior EU officials in Brussels. I'm not worried. We have a very serious and honest relationship. Obviously I don't know what his final decision will be and to what extent he wants to get involved in the race, but we are serene whatever he decides to do. Mr Bersani indicated he would not want to direct his election campaign against Mr Monti, and that he wanted to maintain close ties after the race. If I were to win, the first thing I would do the day after the elections would be to call Monti. This is a very clear political message," Mr Bersani said, suggesting that Mr Monti would be an ideal candidate as the next head of state when Giorgio Napolitano stepped down in May.