Gianfranco Fini, president of the lower house of parliament and the estranged ally of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said Sunday he believed Berlusconi should resign from office. Fini, who had a high profile break from Berlusconi in July, has given his support to the ruling coalition on a case-by-case basis. But on Sunday he said 'we cannot go on this way' and he urged the prime minister to resign so he could revamp his governmental program and try to form a new government. He said that Berlusconi should unveil a new program aimed at helping boost economic growth in Italy's poorer southern regions, curb unemployment, and reform the country's electoral laws. If Berlusconi does not resign or at least change his governmental program, Fini said he would resign his post and take his parliamentary representatives with him, which would rob Berlusconi's allies of a parliamentary majority and make the government crumble. Technically, Berlusconi could still lead the new government. But commentators say Fini's comments could be part of a power grab. 'Gianfranco Fini has finally come out into the open from his guerrilla war and declared an open war,' James Walston, a political scientist with the American University of Rome and a frequent commentator, said. Walston said a new centrist alliance would be more likely than Berlusconi to take power if a new government was formed, putting either Fini or another former Berlusconi ally, Pierferdinando Casini, in pole position for the prime minister's sash. Fini's comments came amid a prolonged crisis for Berlusconi, who has seen his approval level drop precipitously in the wake of a series of sex scandals, sluggish economic growth, and the defection of Fini and other key allies. Berlusconi did not immediately respond to Fini's remarks, but Italian television networks reported the prime minister would likely address the country in the coming week. 