In the article “Berlusconi Resigns: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Steps Down After 17 Years,” Nicole Winfield discusses the lasting effect that Berlusconi had on Italy and the reasons for his forced resignation.
Berlusconi led Italy into a deep economic crisis that now threatens to tear apart the Eurozone and ruin the Euro. Berlusconi lost his parliamentary majority and was therefore forced to resign due to his changes in style. When Berlusconi came to power in 1994, he was billionaire media mogul who used the soccer chant “’Let’s Go Italy’ as the name of his political party” and sold the Italian public on his dream of prosperity and transformation of Italy. However, he transformed Italy in the wrong way, with his reign surrounded by corruption, trails, and “accusations that he used his political power to help his business interests,” along with sex scandals, “bunga bunga” parties and criminal charges. Italy’s bailouts total $2 trillion, twice as much as Greece, Ireland and Portugal combined, who required “international bailouts after their own borrowing rates passed 7%.” Also, “an Italian default could tear apart the coalition of 17 countries that use the euro as a common currency and deal a strong blow to the economies of Europe and the US, both trying to avoid recessions.”
Mario Monti is the frontrunner for Berlusconi’s replacement and it will be very difficult for him to fix the economy after what Berlusconi has transformed it in to. However, people have hope for Monti and are glad that Berlusconi is gone, saying that they “think he is going to bring trust back to Italian people who are losing it.” Monti must push through manifold reforms and austerity measures to deal with Italy’s “staggering debts, which stand to $2.6 trillion or a huge 120 percent of economic output. Italy has to roll over a little more than $410 billion of its debts next year alone.”
The Italian economy will be very hard to fix due to Berlusconi’s effect on it, but Italians are hopeful that Monti will be able to improve Italy’s state and the Euro.
No comments:
Post a Comment