Berlusconi to resign after Parliament adopts reforms

Berlusconi to resign after Parliament adopts reforms

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was set to resign today after 17 years at the top of Italian political life, as lawmakers prepared to give final approval to a package of key economic reforms.

Berlusconi has said he will step down once the measures he promised to the European Union are adopted in a session starting at 1700 IST, after market turmoil raised fears that Italy could drag Europe into an unprecedented crisis.

A cabinet meeting at which Berlusconi could announce the resignation is scheduled for 1230 IST after the parliament votes. The prime minister would then have to formally submit his resignation to Italy’s head of state.

There is little grief among ordinary Italians over the demise of Berlusconi, with latest polls giving him an approval rating of just 22 per cent, but he did earn at least one tribute from counterpart and friend Vladimir Putin.