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| Silvio Berlusconi’s resignation on Saturday was met with celebrations in downtown Rome, with some people shouting ‘We’re free!’ (Reuters Photo) |
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Rome. A
chorus of Handel’s “Alleluia” rang out on Saturday as Silvio Berlusconi
resigned as Italian prime minister, ending a tumultuous 17-year political era
and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing the country back from the
brink of economic crisis.
Berlusconi
stepped down amid jeers, cheers and heckles of “Buffoon” from thousands of
people who packed downtown Rome to witness his government’s downfall after a
stunning week of market turmoil that upended his defiant hold on power and
threatened to tear apart the euro zone.
Respected
former European commissioner Mario Monti remained the top choice to try to
steer the country out of its debt woes as the head of a transitional
government. But the job is Herculean, given the enormity of reforms required
and Italy’s often-paralyzed parliament.
President
Giorgio Napolitano held consultations with Italy’s main political forces on
Sunday morning before proceeding with the expected request that Monti try to
form a new government.
In front of
Napolitano’s office, where Berlusconi handed in his resignation late on
Saturday, protesters uncorked sparkling wine and danced in a conga line,
shouting “We’re free!” Several dozen singers and classical musicians — complete
with music stands and chairs — performed Handel’s “Alleluia” to rejoice in the
end of Berlusconi’s scandal-marred reign and welcome Monti into office.
“I think he
[Monti] is going to bring trust back to Italian people who are losing it, are a
bit fed up with what’s going on and have lost the trust and the respect [they
had for Berlusconi],” said Sophie Duffort, who was in the piazza on Saturday
night.
Berlusconi
supporters were also out in force, some singing the national anthem, but they
were vastly outnumbered.
His
resignation was set in motion after the Chamber of Deputies approved economic
reforms demanded by the European Union, which include increasing the retirement
age starting in 2026 but do nothing to open up Italy’s inflexible labor market.
The Senate
approved the legislation a day earlier and Napolitano signed it into law on
Saturday afternoon, paving the way for Berlusconi to leave office as he
promised to do after losing his parliamentary majority earlier in the week.
Berlusconi
stood as lawmakers applauded him in the parliament chamber immediately after
the vote. But outside his office and in front of government palazzos across
town, thousands of curiosity-seekers massing to witness his government’s final
hours heckled him and his ministers.
“Shame!”
and “Get Out!” they yelled as they marched through downtown Rome in a festive
indication that for many Italians, like the financial markets, the time had
come for Berlusconi to go.
It was an
ignoble end for the 75-year-old billionaire media mogul, who came to power for
the first time in 1994 by selling Italians on a dream of prosperity with his
own personal story of transformation from cruise-ship crooner to Italy’s
richest man.
While he
became Italy’s longest-serving post-war premier, Berlusconi’s three stints as
premier were tainted by corruption trials and accusations that he used his
political power to help his business interests.
His last
term was marred by sex scandals, “bunga bunga” parties and criminal charges he
paid a 17-year-old girl to have sex — accusations he denies.
In the end,
his downfall came swiftly. Just last week Berlusconi boldly told a G-20 summit
in Cannes, France, he was the only one who could steer Italy out of its
economic morass.
A week of
battering on the markets and the defection of several party members later, his
fate was sealed.
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