...

Berlusconi: Italy's austerity budget to get final nod Wednesday

Business Materials 13 September 2011 16:59 (UTC +04:00)
The austerity package that the Italian government cobbled together over the summer to calm market fears about the country's solvency is to get its final parliamentary nod on Wednesday, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Tuesday.
Berlusconi: Italy's austerity budget to get final nod Wednesday

The austerity package that the Italian government cobbled together over the summer to calm market fears about the country's solvency is to get its final parliamentary nod on Wednesday, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Tuesday.

Berlusconi made the announcement during a controversial, last-minute visit to European Union institutions, which allowed him to skip a potentially embarassing meeting with prosecutors, DPA reported.

Meanwhile in Rome, Minister for Relations with Parliament, Elio Vito, said the conservative government would push the package over its final parliamentary hurdle with a confidence vote in the lower house Chamber of Deputies.

Last week parliament's upper house, the Senate, approved the measures, also through a confidence vote.

"Tomorrow the Italian Parliament will give final approval" to the 54-billion-euro (74-billion-dollar) package, Berlusconi said Tuesday after meeting EU President Herman Van Rompuy in Brussels.

Despite that reassurance, risk indicators on Italy's debt reached record-high levels, with investors demanding an extra 4.07 percentage points in yield on 10-year government bonds compared to the benchmark equivalent German obligations.

Berlusconi maintained that "there has been no backtracking" on the budget plan, which was originally presented by the government as a 45-billion-euro package in August, watered down in Parliament, then strengthened again by governmental decree earlier this month.

He said it was a "paradox" that the centre-left opposition, while agreeing with the need for austerity and supporting a constitutional reform enshrining the need for a balanced budget, was still criticising the package due to be approved.

Berlusconi said they have "only one desire: topple the government, without realising that in this way they would topple Italy. They clearly want to destroy the image of the Prime Minister, but in so doing they are, in my opinion, ruining the image of the country."

With market pressure continuing unabated despite the latest austerity measures, Italian public debate has been dominated by the question of whether extra budget-trimming measures are be needed.

Berlusconi said "all" EU governments know it would be a good idea to raise minimum retirement ages, but they are loath to do so "because (they) lose votes."

So if the EU were to "force, order" them to act, "all the (EU) states, all the governments would be happy," the Italian premier suggested.

Prosecutors in Naples wanted to hear Berlusconi over an investigation on a man on trial for recruiting prostitutes to attend his private parties, who is also accused of blackmailing the premier to prevent details about the arrangement from becoming public.

The billionaire media-magnate-turned-politician is already facing three separate trials for corruption, tax fraud and having sex with an underage prostitute.

Some 50 people from the opposition Democratic Party protested outside the EU headquarters in Brussels. "Berlusconi is using the EU institutions to escape from his legal troubles," they said in a leaflet.

The Italian premier was due to continue his EU mission by travelling to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, where he was due to meet European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Latest

Latest