Italy’s technocrat prime minister, Mario Monti, has said in a radio interview he is willing to consider a broad coalition with Silvio Berlusconi’s conservatives, provided the former premier isn’t part of it.
Meanwhile, the left-wing Democratic Party continues to rise in the polls. It could win a plurality of the seats in both chambers of parliament. Read more “Italy’s Monti Open to Broad Coalition, Left Surges”
Italian and Dutch prime ministers Mario Monti and Mark Rutte argued for a transatlantic free-trade agreement at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday. Read more “Monti, Rutte Advocate Transatlantic Trade Zone”
A CISE survey published in the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore on Sunday found that the country’s left-wing leader, Pier Luigi Bersani, is in the lead to win the premiership.
Incumbent prime minister Mario Monti, who has announced he will contest February’s election leading a coalition of centrist parties, places second. Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is in third place. Read more “Italy’s Left Tops Prime Ministerial Poll, Monti Second”
When Mario Monti became prime minister in November, his country teetered on the brink of sovereign default. The former European commissioner was hailed at home and abroad as the man who would save Italy from financial ruin.
Monti called for budget cuts and economic and pension reforms to stabilize Italy’s debt and improve its competitiveness relative to other members of the eurozone.
More than a year later, little progress has been made. Read more “Monti Failed to Thoroughly Liberalize Italy’s Economy”
Italy’s former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has accused his successor, Mario Monti, of dragging Italy into recession by toeing the German line on austerity.
Monti resigned this week after Berlusconi’s conservatives withdrew their support from this government, triggering elections that could take place as early as February.
Berlusconi is expected to become the prime ministerial candidate for Il Popolo della Libertà, the party he launched in 2007. Read more “Berlusconi Blames Monti for Recession, Toeing German Line”
Italy’s technocratic prime minister, Mario Monti, has said he will resign after a budget law was passed in parliament without the support of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s conservatives.
Berlusconi announced on Friday he would stand in the next election, claiming to have been “besieged by requests” from right-wing party members.
“I cannot let my country fall into a recessive spiral without end,” he said. “It’s not possible to go on like this.”
Monti’s decision is likely to trigger parliamentary elections before his mandate expires in April, possibly as early as February of next year. Read more “Italy’s Monti to Resign After Berlusconi Pulls Support”
Italy’s technocratic prime minister, Mario Monti, has urged political support for reforms in order to avoid the Southern European country becoming the next victim of the continent’s spiraling debt crisis.
He knows that now is not a time for complacency. Read more “Italy’s Monti Urges Political Support for Reforms”
Italian prime minister Mario Monti said the divide between proponents of austerity and growth in Europe “needs to be bridged.”
In an interview with CNN that was broadcast on Sunday, the Italian leader said there could be effort to stimulate demand, “if it is demand to remove bottlenecks in the supply of goods and services, so broadly investment demand.” Read more “Monti Says “Bridge” Divide Between Austerity, Growth”
Italian officials are lobbying for an adjustment in European debt and deficit rules, which would exempt stimulus spending from tight fiscal restraints.
The news follows heavy losses for Italy’s ruling center-left and center-right parties in local elections. Read more “After Local Elections, Italians Seek Room for Stimulus”
French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s election defeat on Sunday robbed German chancellor Angela Merkel of one of her key allies in combatting the European debt crisis. Italian prime minister Mario Monti may be the next best thing for her.
Monti suggested last Wednesday that he could help France and Germany find “a new equilibrium” after Sundays’ election. “We have become more pressing and, I hope, more persuasive in a European context,” he said. Read more “Europe’s New Power Couple May Not Be That Powerful”
