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Parties back Monti ahead of trust vote
Source: Agencies |
November 16, 2011, Wednesday
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ITALY'S premier-designate Mario Monti held crucial meetings yesterday with the leaders of the country's biggest political parties as he worked to put together a cabinet that can win parliamentary backing and steer the eurozone's third-biggest economy through its debt crisis.
Both the center-left Democratic Party and ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's Peoples of Liberty Party said they fully backed Monti. But investors worried that they might pull their support in the future if austerity measures proved unpalatable, undermining the success of much-needed reforms.
That prospect weighed on Italy's markets, with the yield on the 10-year bonds jumping again by 0.44 of a percentage point to 7.02 percent. Last week's spike above 7 percent raised fears Italy would eventually need a bailout like Greece.
Monti, a respected economist and European ex-commissioner, is under pressure to quickly reassure markets that Italy will avoid a default that could tear apart the coalition of 17 countries that use the euro and push the global economy back into recession.
Italy is considered too big for Europe to bail out, in contrast to Greece, Portugal and Ireland.
Monti met with the head of the Democratic Party and Angelino Alfano, secretary of Berlusconi's Peoples of Liberty Party yesterday morning. Support from the parties' lawmakers will be crucial in a confidence vote, likely this week, which would signal the start of Monti's government.
"We think in light of the facts and after this latest conversation that Professor Monti's attempts are destined to turn out well," Alfano told reporters after meeting with Monti in Rome.
Previously, the party had conditioned its future support on the shape of Monti's cabinet, his government agenda and the duration of his term. Berlusconi's allies want elections as soon as this spring, something rejected outright by Monti.
But Monti, a 68-year-old economics professor, made clear that he intends to serve until spring 2013 elections, calling it counterproductive to say when he'd step down.
"If a date before (2013) is set, this haste would take away credibility from the government's actions," Monti said at his brief news conference. "I won't accept" such a condition, he said.
Pierluigi Bersani, head of the Democratic Party, pledged his support, and placed no artificial timeframe on Monti's tenure.
President Giorgio Napolitano tapped Monti on Sunday to try to form a government after Berlusconi resigned after weeks of market turmoil over Italy's stagnant growth and high public debt, which at 1.9 trillion euros (US$2.6 trillion) is nearly 120 percent of GDP.
Both the center-left Democratic Party and ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's Peoples of Liberty Party said they fully backed Monti. But investors worried that they might pull their support in the future if austerity measures proved unpalatable, undermining the success of much-needed reforms.
That prospect weighed on Italy's markets, with the yield on the 10-year bonds jumping again by 0.44 of a percentage point to 7.02 percent. Last week's spike above 7 percent raised fears Italy would eventually need a bailout like Greece.
Monti, a respected economist and European ex-commissioner, is under pressure to quickly reassure markets that Italy will avoid a default that could tear apart the coalition of 17 countries that use the euro and push the global economy back into recession.
Italy is considered too big for Europe to bail out, in contrast to Greece, Portugal and Ireland.
Monti met with the head of the Democratic Party and Angelino Alfano, secretary of Berlusconi's Peoples of Liberty Party yesterday morning. Support from the parties' lawmakers will be crucial in a confidence vote, likely this week, which would signal the start of Monti's government.
"We think in light of the facts and after this latest conversation that Professor Monti's attempts are destined to turn out well," Alfano told reporters after meeting with Monti in Rome.
Previously, the party had conditioned its future support on the shape of Monti's cabinet, his government agenda and the duration of his term. Berlusconi's allies want elections as soon as this spring, something rejected outright by Monti.
But Monti, a 68-year-old economics professor, made clear that he intends to serve until spring 2013 elections, calling it counterproductive to say when he'd step down.
"If a date before (2013) is set, this haste would take away credibility from the government's actions," Monti said at his brief news conference. "I won't accept" such a condition, he said.
Pierluigi Bersani, head of the Democratic Party, pledged his support, and placed no artificial timeframe on Monti's tenure.
President Giorgio Napolitano tapped Monti on Sunday to try to form a government after Berlusconi resigned after weeks of market turmoil over Italy's stagnant growth and high public debt, which at 1.9 trillion euros (US$2.6 trillion) is nearly 120 percent of GDP.
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