ROME: Former European Commissioner Mario Monti emerged on Thursday as favourite to replace Silvio Berlusconi and form a new government to stave off a run on Italian bonds that is endangering the entire euro zone.
Monti, a highly respected international figure, has been pushed by markets for weeks as the most suitable figure to lead a national unity government that will urgently push through painful austerity measures.
In a key development on Thursday, Berlusconi’s ruling PDL party softened its insistence on early elections as the way out of a deep political crisis and said it was considering the option of a Monti-led government.
President Giorgio Napolitano appointed Monti a senator for life on Wednesday, in a move widely seen as a sign he would ask the academic to try to form a broad-based government as soon as Berlusconi goes within the next few days.
With Italy’s borrowing costs now clearly deep in the danger zone, support for a national unity government appeared to be gaining support among members of the PDL with Foreign Minister Franco Frattini indicating cautious support. (UNI)