21.   On Friday, Dini plans to meet with President Clinton in Washington, then travel to Toronto for a meeting of treasury ministers from Group of Seven nations.

22.   So far a deputy treasury minister has resigned, but insisted it was for personal reasons.

23.   The conservative coalition is led by media magnate Silvio Berlusconi, a former premier himself who brought Dini into government as treasury minister.

24.   The lira hit record lows against the German mark before President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro nominated Dini, who also served as treasury minister under Berlusconi.

25.   The treasury minister quit Tuesday amid allegations that his son failed to declare the true value of six truckloads of electronic goods to avoid paying import taxes.

26.   He and the treasury minister have said that Italy is in a good position to achieve a balanced budget from the start of next year.

27.   He had previously spent seven months as treasury minister in the team of media magnate Silvio Berlusconi, facing down the trade unions with steely resolve.

28.   He was treasury minister under the short-lived premiership of Silvio Berlusconi, who is spearheading the center-right Freedom Alliance campaign.

29.   He was replaced in February by his treasury minister Lamberto Dini at the head of a non-partisan government of technocrats.

30.   He was replaced in February by his treasury minister Lamberto Dini at the head of a non-partisan, technocratic government.