Why berlusconi stepped down

For days, Mr. Monti, 68, a well-respected economist with close ties to European Union officials, has been identified as the front-runner. Monti met on Saturday with Mr. Berlusconi and earlier in the day with Mario Draghi, the recently installed president of the European Central Bank, reinforcing the notion that financial and European institutions supported Mr.

The austerity measures approved by lawmakers include selling state assets and increasing the retirement age to 67 from 65 by They would also decrease the power of professional guilds, privatize municipal services and offer tax breaks to companies that hire young workers.

Key political parties, with the exception of the Northern League, an important member of Mr. But the wrangling over crucial details is not over. Some members of Mr. But the main opposition party and other lawmakers, fearing that elections would lead to an unsustainable period of market turmoil, support a transitional government. But that effort never gained traction and last week he said he would drop out. Then, less than 48 hours later, judges in Milan found Berlusconi guilty and sentenced him to four years in jail and banned him from politics for five years.

His lawyers immediately announced plans to appeal. When Berlusconi stepped down 11 months ago, he promised to focus his energies on revitalizing Mediaset, the media giant he founded. The company has recently declared a moratorium on acquiring foreign productions or on developing new content on its own. Newspapers have reported the company is looking to sell off some assets.

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day. Markets promptly sent up Italy's borrowing costs. Rehn under fire over Berlusconi remarks Italian politics: s stuck on repeat. Monti majority dented amid speculation of Berlusconi comeback 7.

Dec , Italian borrowing costs spiked on Thursday as ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi's party boycotted the government of technocrat PM Mario Monti, fuelling speculation about the media mogul's comeback and possible early elections.

Monti tries to calm markets on Italian elections Dec , Italy's outgoing PM, Mario Monti on Monday sought to give reassurances that any government emerging from the upcoming elections would be "very responsible. Rehn under fire over Berlusconi remarks Jan , EU commissioner Olli Rehn is at the centre of a political row after blaming Italy's former prime minister, Berlusconi, for the country's financial crisis.

Berlusconi: Italy's next finance minister? Jan , Italy's Silvio Berlusconi is to join forces with the Northern League in next month's elections, but does not want to be Prime Minister. EU leaders back Monti against Berlusconi Dec , Germany's Merkel and other centre-right leaders have indicated they would like to see Mario Monti to keep on running Italy instead of Silvio Berlusconi.

Opinion Italian politics: s stuck on repeat Dec , The inevitable loop of Italian politics repeated again this month when former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi - fresh from a tax fraud conviction - pulled his party's support for the technocrat government of Mario Monti.

Jan, European Democracy Consulting study said continued low numbers, or "even just a feeling of lasting under-representation", will lead to frustration and impact EU governance.