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
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
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
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
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
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 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