The word sweeping across Italy is that the PM may be forced to step down in a matter of
hours, even “minutes”. Ex-minister Giuliano Ferrara says:
And he couldn’t leave too soon. The Italian bond yield busted the 6.5 per cent threshold to reach 6.58 per cent this morning. It’s now close to what some traders call “bailout territory”.“That Silvio Berlusconi is about to resign is clear. It is a question of hours, some say of minutes.”
News of Berlusconi’s imminent resignation has sent Italian stocks soaring though – the FTSE MIB is up 2.4 per cent.
Berlusconi’s scandal-ridden premiership and bunga-bunga antics have caused political deadlock in Rome and stalled the path of much-needed economic reform.
Still, with Papandreou’s “will he? won’t he?” saga stretching out across several days, it may take more than a few minutes for Berlusconi, who has put on a show of bravado in past days, to pack his bags. Some political observers put the latest at tomorrow morning.
UPDATE: Reuters are now reporting that Berlusconi says claims that he will resign are “unfounded”.
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