‘Super Mario’ Takes Over From Berlusconi
11:50pm UK, Sunday November 13, 2011
The respected economist accepted President Giorgio Napolitano’s offer to form a new government after he won crucial backing from Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative party.
Soon after the decision, Mr Monti said: “Our country needs to redeem itself with strength. We need to give our kids a concrete future.”
He must now choose members of his cabinet, which he is expected to announce as early as Monday, before laying out his priorities and establishing whether he has enough support in parliament to govern effectively.
The appointment comes a day after Mr Berlusconi resigned, bowing out after world markets heaped pressure on his country’s borrowing ability, reflecting their loss of faith in his economic program.
He had survived numerous sex scandals and corruption allegations but his grip on power finally ended after he lost his parliamentary majority amid a mounting debt crisis.
Italy’s debts stand at 1.9trn euros (£1.6trn), or 120% of its economic output.
It will have to roll over a tiny more than 300bn euros (£2.57bn) of its debts next year alone.
When Mr Monti – dubbed “Super Mario” by the Italian press – was suggested as a possible candidate on Friday it had a positive impact on the markets, with Italy’s 10-year bond yield benchmark falling to 6.48%.
Minutes before he was appointed to the top job, Mr Berlusconi made an address on tv in which he stated he was “sad” that his “generous gesture” to resign was greeted by “hoots and insults” from crowds outside parliament.
He vowed to keep up his efforts to “renew Italy” through his continued presence as a lawmaker.
He also made a parting call for the European Central Bank to become a lender of last resort to prop up the euro.
“This has become a crisis for our common currency, the euro, which does not have the support that every currency should have,” he said.
“That is to state a bank which is a lender of last resort and a guarantor for the currency as other currencies have, such as the dollar or sterling.
“This is what the European Central Bank should become if we want to save the euro and with it, Europe.”
source : news.sky.com
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Submited at Monday, November 14th, 2011 at 12:00 am on Business by blum
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