Italy elects parliament speakers, but still no government

ROME: Italian lawmakers have elected the speakers of both chambers of parliament following an inconclusive March 4 election, giving the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement leadership of one chamber and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia the other.

Forza Italia Sen. Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, a longtime Berlusconi ally, became the first woman to be elected Senate president during the second day of voting Saturday.

The 5-Stars' Roberto Fico was elected president of the lower Chamber of Deputies.

Despite the agreement, there is still no solid indication that either of the two biggest vote-getters from the election - the 5-Stars and the center-right coalition of Forza Italia and the anti-immigrant League - are any closer to forming a government.

Negotiations on whether either main bloc can find a majority are expected to last weeks.