The Star Online: World Updates
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- Festive Roman crowds cheer end of Berlusconi era
- Italy races to form new government after Berlusconi
- NEWSMAKER - Showman Berlusconi leaves amid jeers and boos
| Festive Roman crowds cheer end of Berlusconi era Posted: ROME (Reuters) - Thousands gathered in Rome to celebrate the political demise of Silvio Berlusconi on Saturday, whistling and shouting insults as the 75-year-old media magnate drove to hand in his resignation as prime minister.
In an atmosphere reminiscent of a football World Cup victory celebration, squares outside government buildings were packed with cheering crowds, singing and chanting as the curtain came down on Berlusconi's scandal-hit government. Police held back the crowds behind barriers outside Berlusconi's private residence in central Rome and in front of the Quirinale Palace, the residence of the head of state, President Giorgio Napolitano. A small orchestra played the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah as the crowd waited for Berlusconi to appear and hand in his resignation. "We're here by chance, we're tourists, but we saw this collective joy and I think it is a historical change in our country, this is the feeling we had walking around the city," said Daniele Forese, a visitor from southern Italy. Many carried signs with derisive slogans like "Bye bye Silvio, Ciao, Ciao!" after a vote in parliament cleared the way for Berlusconi to step down, two and a half years after he came to power with one of the largest majorities in Italian history. Flag-waving revellers buzzed past on scooters, conga-lines formed and chants of "Clown! Clown!", the traditional insult hurled at disgraced Italian politicans, rang out in a spontaneous celebration after weeks of political turmoil. "We are waiting for the end, we are waiting for the end of the Berlusconi era, we hope it is going to be the end," said Rome resident Angela Lanza. Berlusconi was prime minister for a total of 17 years, making him Italy's longest-serving premier. A small cluster of Berlusconi supporters gathered outside his residence, but they were shouted down by the vastly larger number of those there to celebrate the premier's downfall. With Italy sliding deeper into crisis and financial markets hammering government bonds, millions of ordinary people have been fearful for their jobs, pensions and savings. "You have taken away my pension for your budget," shouted one man, balanced on the shoulders of another demonstrator. The protest reflected Berlusconi's growing unpopularity after months of relentless scandal and bad economic news, but it also underlined a widespread fury against the entire Italian political class. (Writing by James Mackenzie; editing by Tim Pearce) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. | ||
| Italy races to form new government after Berlusconi Posted: ROME (Reuters) - Italy's head of state begins talks on Sunday to appoint an emergency government to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and handle a crisis that has brought the euro zone's third largest economy to the brink of financial disaster.
President Giorgio Napolitano is expected to ask former European Commissioner Mario Monti to try to form a government of technocrats in time for the opening of markets on Monday. The appointment of a new government will come after Berlusconi faced a chorus of jeers and insults as he was driven to the Quirinale Palace to hand his resignation to Napolitano. Crowds built up steadily after parliament passed a new budget law in the late afternoon on Saturday, clearing the way for Berlusconi to fulfill a pledge to resign after he failed to secure a majority in a crucial vote on Tuesday. Following weeks of political uncertainty and growing calls from international partners for action to control its towering public debt, Italy's borrowing costs soared to unmanageable levels last week, threatening a Europe-wide financial meltdown. Monti, named as Senator for Life last week, met European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and politicians from various parties on Saturday as preparations for a transition began even before Berlusconi stepped down. He has not so far been named officially but he has received the backing of the main opposition groups and the conditional acceptance of Berlusconi's centre-right PDL after objections from several factions in the party were overcome. "In the end, a sense of responsibility prevailed," said Mario Baccini, a PDL lawmaker. He said the PDL would support a Monti government as long as it stuck to reforms agreed by the outgoing government with the European Union. With the next elections not due until 2013, a government of technocrats could have about 18 months to pass painful economic reforms but will need to secure the backing of a majority in parliament and could fall before then. Italy came close to a full scale financial emergency this week after yields on 10-year bonds soared over 7.6 percent, levels which forced Ireland, Portugal and Greece to seek an international bailout. With public debt of more than 120 percent of gross domestic product and more than a decade of anaemic economic growth behind it, Italy is at the heart of the euro zone debt crisis and would be too big for the bloc to bail out. Financial markets have backed a Monti government and as prospects of Berlusconi going became firmer last week, yields dropped below the critical 7 percent level. TECHNOCRATS It now falls to Berluconi's successor to try to reassure markets that a new government will be able to control spending and pass the kind of reforms to pensions, public service and labour markets that his government was unable to implement. A technical government under Monti would avoid the need for a long and divisive election campaign, unsettling markets further, but its future will depend on maintaining the support of parliament. A tough negotiator with a record of taking on powerful corporate interests as European Competition Commissioner, Monti will have to navigate the treacherous waters of Italian politics to survive. On the left, likely reforms such as an increase in the pension age or easier hiring and firing rules could prompt strong opposition from unions once the elation of Berlusconi's departure has passed. But the threat could be at least as great from the centre-right with Berlusconi's old Northern League coalition partners declaring they will oppose a Monti-led government and many in the PDL also harbouring deep reservations. In a potentially ominous sign of the dangers that may face a Monti government, Italian news agencies reported that Berlusconi had told party colleagues that they would control the future of a new administration. "We can pull the plug whenever we want," he was quoted as telling party allies. (Editing by Louise Ireland) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. | ||
| NEWSMAKER - Showman Berlusconi leaves amid jeers and boos Posted: ROME (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi dominated Italy for 17 years with a unique mix of political talent and brazen behaviour but left office brought low by the power of bond markets with the jeers of the Roman crowd ringing in his ears.
A born showman with a self-declared but real talent for making himself liked, the 75-year-old media magnate appeared embittered and isolated as he was driven to the residence of President Giorgio Napolitano to resign formally on Saturday. In scenes reminiscent of the fate of his shamed predecessor Bettino Craxi as he left a Roman hotel in 1993, Berlusconi departed the political scene with angry crowds hurling insults at his limousine. After handing in his resignation, Berlusconi left the Quirinale Palace by a side entrance as thousands of demonstrators chanted "Clown! Clown!" the insult traditionally hurled at disgraced Italian politicians. The departure of Italy's longest serving prime minister put a seal on weeks of turmoil on financial markets that has left Italy dependent on help from the European Central Bank to stem a crisis that threatens the entire euro zone. It also brought down the curtain on a remarkable political career that stretched from the "Bribesville" corruption affair that destroyed the old political order in the 1990s to a fresh era of scandal. Bolstered by unrivalled communication skills and a dominance of Italian media, Berlusconi had for years seemed immune to a series of controversies that would have destroyed a politician in most other parts of the world. They included the lurid "Rubygate" scandal in which he was charged with having sex with an under-age prostitute, and a wave of salacious revelations from police wiretaps about alleged orgies at his luxurious Milan villa. He also faces two ongoing fraud court cases, the latest in more than 30 prosecutions by magistrates he accuses of being communists bent on perverting democracy. The perma-tanned media tycoon, once a cruise ship crooner, was always unrepentant about a notoriously off-colour sense of humour and a series of diplomatic gaffes which have led many foreign leaders to try to avoid being photographed near him. DECLINE Berlusconi, one of Italy's richest men, had been in political decline for most of this year, his former mastery undermined by glaring misjudgments in local elections and three referendums, as well as the loss of a key alliance. Often derided abroad for his facelifts, hair transplants, make-up and gaffes, Berlusconi until recently commanded a large following particularly among middle-class women, pensioners and the self-employed, striking a chord with his warnings about the dangers of left-wing extremists. But with lurid details from assorted sex and corruption scandals filling newspapers for months and bitter government infighting poisoning the atmosphere around him, Berlusconi's touch increasingly deserted him. He had seemed to have a good chance of hanging on for scheduled elections in 2013, until markets panicked by the Greek crisis turned on Italy, focusing on the inability of Berlusconi's squabbling government to pass meaningful reforms. Up to the last, Berlusconi appeared to underestimate the gravity of the crisis, declaring this month that "restaurants are full, you have trouble booking seats on planes" as the economic pain mounted for millions of ordinary Italians. As markets focused on Italy's huge public debt and stagnant economy, Italy's government bonds came under huge pressure and the European Central Bank had to move in August to buy bonds on the market to stop the crisis spreading. In return it demanded tough economic reforms, effectively dictating government policy and destroying Berlusconi's boasts that he had shielded Italy from the euro zone debt crisis. With his coalition crumbling around him and borrowing costs soaring out of control, Berlusconi finally agreed to resign after losing a crucial vote in parliament. But in an sign of how much the collapse of market confidence was focused on him individually, bond yields soared even higher the day after the announcement because of market uncertainty about whether he would really go. Napolitano had to publicly assure markets the flamboyant billionaire would go and accelerated the political transition. SCEPTICISM Berlusconi's final demise was a far cry from 2008 when a landslide victory gave the media tycoon his strongest electoral mandate. He had been prime minister for longer than any postwar leader, painting himself as the only choice for the dominant conservative voting bloc and a bastion against communism. But he did not have long to savour his third election triumph. In 2009 his estranged wife Veronica denounced his sex life and accused him of consorting with under-age women, finally sowing doubts in the minds of voters who had hitherto been charmed by his image as a self-made macho Latin male. In addition, Berlusconi has persistently shown himself to be better at promises than action, failing to implement pledges in 2008 to use his business acumen to liberalise a notoriously inflexible and protected economy. As owner of Italy's main private television channels and top-flight soccer team AC Milan after making a fortune in a Milan construction boom, he typified an Italian dream, with millions won over by his rags-to-riches story and optimism. Berlusconi created his own party almost overnight in 1994 to fill the void on the right caused by the destruction of the long-dominant Christian Democrats by a corruption scandal. His media empire Mediaset has a near-duopoly in television with state-run RAI over which, as premier, he had ultimate control. This gave him a much-criticised stranglehold on Italian media while he was accused of lowering cultural values with variety shows dominated by scantily clad starlets. Critics also say he used his political and media power to fend off many prosecutions. In the last year the Catholic Church has distanced itself from him, following reports of starlets and prostitutes dancing half-naked for him in return for cash and gifts. He boasted in one phone call of having sex with eight women in one night. Berlusconi has always maintained the dinners he hosted were jovial affairs that involved little more than food, jokes and song. His only concession has been to say he is "no saint" and loves beautiful women. (Writing by James Mackenzie and Barry Moody; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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