|
Italian gov't on brink of collapse
[Financial Times] Italia's prime minister was fighting on Tuesday night to stave off a collapse of his centre-right coalition government over European Union...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... demands for more concrete economic reform measures in time for Wednesday's highly anticipated summit of eurozone leaders. The demand came as European officials attempted to reach a final agreement on giving the eurozone's 440bn rescue fund more firepower so that it can assist Italia by purchasing Italian bonds, lowering Rome's borrowing rates, which are near 6 per cent. While such EU assistance falls well short of a full-scale Italian bail-out, senior European officials said it would come with tough new conditions, and that the demands on Silvio Berlusconi ...current Italian prime minister, known for his plain (for a European politician) speaking and his liking for hookers a third his age or less... were the beginning of a more intrusive effort by Italia's eurozone partners to ensure Rome convinces the financial markets it is sincere about fiscal reforms. Talks early on Tuesday between Mr Berlusconi and his Northern League coalition partners failed to resolve the deadlock -- centred on proposed pension reforms -- after inconclusive negotiations the night before. "The government is at risk," Umberto Bossi, leader of the fiercely eurosceptic and federalist Northern League, told news hounds in Rome. "The situation is difficult, very dangerous. This is a dramatic moment," he said, warning of possible snap elections. But Angelino Alfano, secretary of Mr Berlusconi's People of Liberty party, said on Tuesday night that an agreement on reform measures had been reached with the Northern League that would hold the coalition together and assure economic growth. Details were not immedietaly available. Any Italian compromise that promises future action could be hard to swallow for eurozone leaders seeking a comprehensive solution to the sovereign debt crisis at the Brussels summit, their second in four days. The European Central Bank, which has been propping up Italian debt on the markets since early August, received similar commitments in the past. Mr Berlusconi's difficulties mirrored tough pre-summit negotiations in other European capitals, where leaders were struggling to finalise the overhaul of the rescue fund and strike a deal with Greek bondholders that would allow them to lower the amount of government bail-out aid to Athens. Posted by: Fred 2011-10-26 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=332302 |