Rome - Italian centre-left Democratic Party leader Walter Veltroni dismissed Saturday his centre-right rival Silvio Berlusconi's pledge to reintroduce nuclear power in Italy if he wins elections set for April 13-14. Italy needs a "great industrial re-conversion" aimed at saving energy and exploiting alternative sources such as solar power, news reports quoted Veltroni as saying at an election rally in the central town of Grosseto.
The Democratic Party leader's remarks came a day after Berlusconi unveiled his seven-point election manifesto, including the reintroduction of nuclear power to reduce high energy costs.
Italy, which banned the use of nuclear power following a 1987 referendum, relies heavily on imports for its energy needs.
Berlusconi who leads opinion polls ahead of the April vote said he believes that new nuclear power plants could be built in five years. Most experts believe it would take at least double the time for this to happen.
