Baghdad Silvio

[marmar]

from the Independent UK:


Now Berlusconi faces his biggest test
After last week's Greek shenanigans, the future of the euro now depends on ability of Italy's premier to rein in his country's spending.

David Randall
Sunday 06 November 2011


Tomorrow, the markets will start to place their bets on the likelihood of Silvio Berlusconi stopping the eurozone debt contagion spreading beyond Greece to lands that are too big to be rescued. Italy will begin, under International Monetary Fund supervision, to see if his government can rein in the spending that has already seen its debts reach 120 per cent of its entire GDP.

Thus will the stability of the eurozone be handed into the care of Europe's flakiest leader. It was not reassuring when, even after effectively being placed on probation by the IMF, Mr Berlusconi told Italian television: "Life in Italy is good. The restaurants are full. It's difficult to get a seat on a plane they're so busy; holidays are all booked up." At least in Athens yesterday there was a genuine sense of crisis, with solemnity to match.

Mr Berlusconi may feel differently on Tuesday, when the first of the votes on reforms to which he is now committed takes place, but just a few days ago he arrived at the G20 in characteristic fashion. His overcoat draped over his shoulders, he stepped from his limousine, and was soon caught by the cameras appraising the contours of Argentina's President, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, with a roué's smile. But, by the meeting's end, he'd been told with more force than ever before that he tends to spend far too much time studying the wrong kind of figures.

From tomorrow, his survival (and possibly that of the eurozone as we know it) will depend on only one vital statistic: the amount by which he can reduce Italy's debt. And to make sure he – or, if he falls, his successor – sticks to the task, an IMF monitoring mission will be invigilating Italy's efforts to reduce spending. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/now-berlusconi-faces-his-biggest-test-6258010.html