Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned Saturday amid Italy’s own growing debt crisis. Italian lawmakers rushed to pass a budget bill that would pull Italy back from the brink of collapse. With Berlusconi’s resignation, economist Mario Monti will step in and form an interim government to help Italy’s economy recover. Shortly before stepping down, Berlusconi’s government pushed for approval of a controversial budget bill in an attempt to revive the world’s eighth-largest economy.
Berlusconi’s resignation marks another European leader—following those in Greece, Ireland and Portugal—forced to step down because of the debt crisis. President Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a credible figure to lead Italy’s new unity government. Monti, a 68-year-old professor and European Commission member, appeared to be the top choice to head an emergency government.
