Berlusconi’s Resignation Ends a 17-Year Era for Italy
Marking the end of a tumultuous week and of an era in Italian politics, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned Saturday evening after Parliament approved austerity measures sought by the European Union.
The lower house passed the measures on Saturday by a vote of 380 to 26, a day after they were approved by the Senate, trying to keep a step ahead of market pressures that sent borrowing rates on Italian bonds skyrocketing last week to levels that have required other euro zone countries to seek bailouts.
The vote, and Mr. Berlusconi’s resignation, come amid the biggest crisis facing the European Union in decades, in which the power of financial markets has upended traditional democratic processes.
Pressured by European leaders struggling to shore up the euro against speculative attacks, Prime Minister George A. Papandreou of Greece resigned last week to make way for a technocrat-led unity government. Mr. Berlusconi followed suit, a rare about-face for a leader known for his perseverance and his refusal to bow to critics.
The end of Mr. Berlusconi’s 17-year hold on Italian politics sets off the country’s most significant political transition in 20 years.
“This is the most dramatic moment of our recent history,” Ferruccio de Bortoli, the editor of the Milan daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, said earlier on national television.
The streets of Rome pulsed with a sense of historic change. Many cheered Mr. Berlusconi’s exit. Outside the Palazzo del Quirinale, the presidential palace, a choir and orchestra performed Handel’s “Hallelujah” chorus.
President Giorgio Napolitano, who as head of state will oversee the transition, was expected to begin consultations with party leaders to nominate a prime minister immediately after Mr. Berlusconi’s resignation.
On Saturday, the president appealed to lawmakers to put the country’s interests above their own. “All political forces must act with a sense of responsibility,” Mr. Napolitano said.