 |
| Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi waves at supporters upon his arrival for a vote on the austerity measures for 2012 at the lower house of parliament in Rome, Italy, Nov. 12, 2011. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned Saturday night after a package of austerity measures demanded by the European Union (EU) was passed in both chambers of Italian parliament, the ANSA news agency reported. (Xinhua/Wang Qingqin) |
ROME, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi handed in his resignation to President Giorgio Napolitano on Saturday, according to a statement issued by Italian President Palace.
Berlusconi, Italy's longest-serving premier since the end of World War II, announced his resignation on Tuesday following a vote in which he lost the majority in the House of Deputies.
He had promised to formally step back once the Parliament approved a package of urgent austerity measures asked by the European Union (EU) to rebuild the country's credibility in the international markets and ward off a dramatic debt-driven crisis.
The House of Deputies completed its vote on Saturday with 380 votes in favor, 26 in opposition and 2 abstentions, after the package had received the approval of the Senate on Friday.
The resignation of the 75-year-old leader opens the way for Napolitano to start consultations with parties in order to form a new emergency technocrat government.
We
Recommend
Aussie black-belt hosts travel show
Sina Microblog
Tencent Microblog
Feedback
RSS
