Berlusconi insists he won't be premier again if his party wins Italian elections

ROME – Silvio Berlusconi says he won't be premier again should his conservative party, trailing in opinion polls, win Italian elections next month.

The media mogul told a TV interviewer in Rome on Sunday that his political heir, Angelino Alfano, is his choice for premier. For months, Berlusconi has been coy about whether he wants a fourth term as premier.

Front-runner in polls is center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani. But it appears unlikely he'll win enough votes to govern alone. A potential coalition partner is caretaker Premier Mario Monti, heading a centrist ticket and trailing behind Berlusconi in polls. Monti, an economist appointed in 2011, indicated in a newspaper interview Sunday he might soften his reform which made it easier to fire workers, a move which could please potential left-leaning allies.