http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/12/world/europe/italy-government/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Rome (CNN) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi officially resigned Saturday, according to the presidential palace press office, seemingly bringing an end to a long career played out on center-stage in the country's volatile political arena.

The thrice-elected 75-year-old business magnate has said he does not intend to stand again if new elections are called.

Berlusconi stepped down just hours after the lower house of parliament approved austerity measures aimed at restoring confidence in Italy's economy.

Crowds that had gathered outside the presidential palace erupted in cheers -- waving the Italian flag, dancing and singing the national anthem -- when news of his resignation broke.

Since entering politics nearly two decades ago, Berlusconi has been one of his country's great survivors, hanging on despite facing numerous trials, on charges ranging from corruption to having sex with an underage prostitute, none of which has resulted in a jail term.

He was first elected in 1994 but lasted barely seven months, thanks to a dispute with his right-wing coalition partners from the Northern League Party and an indictment for alleged tax fraud. He was acquitted on appeal in 2000 after the statute of limitations had expired.

His second term as prime minister came in 2001 and lasted until 2006, when his party lost an election to the center-left Union coalition.
These reforms are the only thing that can take us out of the current situation
Emma Marcegaglia, head of employers' association, Confindustria

The billionaire was elected a third time in 2008, under the banner of the newly created People of Freedom party.
Italy running out of options

In the three and a half years since, his colorful personal life has claimed ever more headlines, as his second wife filed for divorce, he was charged with having sex with an underage nightclub dancer and abuse of power, and the so-called "bunga-bunga" parties held at his home gained international notoriety.
Italy struggles with uncertainty

Finally on Tuesday, he failed to win a parliamentary majority on a budget vote that should have been routine, and had to face the inevitable: his days at the helm were numbered. In the end, it was his perceived failure to tackle Italy's debt crisis rather than any private scandal which had brought him down.
Bond yields and Berlusconi

Also on Saturday, the Italian lower house of parliament approved a series of austerity measures demanded by Europe to shore up confidence in the country's economy. It passed by a vote of 380 for to 26 against.

The package, which includes spending cuts and proposals to boost growth, was approved by the Senate Friday, resulting in a market surge.

The approved measures include pension reform, with plans to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67, the privatization of state-owned companies and sale of state-owned properties, the liberalization of certain professions, and investment in infrastructure.

As the fourth-largest economy in Europe, a meltdown in Italy would have a massive impact on global markets.

Berlusconi had pledged to step down once the austerity measures passed both houses of parliament after losing his majority.

Now that he has resigned, President Giorgio Napolitano -- whose role is largely ceremonial -- could move to appoint a government of technocrats or call fresh elections for early 2012.

Support appeared to be growing this week for former EU commissioner Mario Monti to take the helm of a technocratic administration. Other names also floated include former Justice Minister Angelino Alfano and Gianni Letta, Berlusconi's chief of staff.

The structural reforms demanded by the European Central Bank and the European Commission must be brought in without delay, said Emma Marcegaglia, head of the Italian employers' association, Confindustria.

"These reforms are the only thing that can take us out of the current situation," she said. "We have no choice. We cannot wait for three months for the next elections, this would mean the destruction of Italy. "

She said a rapid solution to the political uncertainty in Italy was essential to put it "firmly back on the road to credibility."

She added: "We are not Greece, we are a strong economy, we are the world's eighth largest economy. We have many state assets and have lots of potential. But we have to survive this very difficult situation."

Italian borrowing costs continued to ease Friday, after spiking above 6.75% Wednesday, giving investors hope that Italy is finally starting to make some progress toward addressing its massive debt problems.

Yields on Italian 10-year bonds were trading at 6.5% Friday after dipping as low as 6.43%. While that's still stubbornly above 6%, it's finally moving in the right direction.

It is imperative to keep Italy's 10-year bond yields well below 7% because that was the level that eventually led to bailouts for Ireland, Portugal and Greece.

Currently, Italy -- the biggest bond issuer in Europe -- possesses a massive gross debt of roughly €1.9 trillion and a debt-to-GDP ratio of 120%. The country is widely considered to be too big to fail. But it may also be too big to bail,

Do you think Goodluck will copy the Italian man and resign?

The white/yellow man is indeed superior.
He did the most honorable thing.
His cup had indeed runneth over.
Why wait for the Osama/Saddam/Gadaffi 'trick o treat'?

Jonathan is a 'black' man.
We know what to expect.

Our Leaders don't usually think anything is wrong with our government, so thats no point stepping down. It will be very dishonorable if they do.

It's been long overdue for italian pm, gej being a blackman can never do that. Even look at liberia president that reneged on her agreement as regards running for second term. Only d gaddafi treatment can oust any african leader.

Which of the following is the greatest threat to Nigerian democracy?
A. Boko Haram
B. PDP
C. Poverty
D. Corruption
E. Zoning

just take a look at the way civilised people ousted their prime minister. if it was in africa or arab nation lives will be lost,properties destroyed and it may even lead to to the death of the president. europeans are the most civilised people in the world.

@kolababa pdp

Jonathan will go for a second term.

African Leaders Love The Taste Of Power. I don't see any of them acting this way.

good for Italy, many African leader prefer to die in power

Lilnikee if u be GEJ will u step down

GEJ wud neva resign, na white man he be?
If we put GEJ 2 a yes or no confidence vote, d 9ja lawmakers wud surely be bribed. I wait 4 d day ministers in 9ja wud resign due 2 corruption or failure 2 achive set goals

pls let Jonathan, em sorry, jonatan be, he can nt step dwn oh cos am rily njoying d 'FRESH AIR'! mschew! resign ko, re-elect ni,

To all of u asking jona to step down. Let me ask if he steps down who will take over?
We know it would be sambo, the crises in the north will definitely chill out and the northern cabal would have succeeded in taking us for a ride.
Jona should only step down if his successor fulfils these conditions
1. He must not be a muslim
2. He must not be a hausa or yoruba man.
Till we get someone who fulfils these conditions, jona should continue

Even Berlusconi knows when to leave. Look at that Ugly Shiet Uduaghan, he would rather wreck the whole of Delta state than let people with Ideas in. The Black Man is Truly Wicked. I the midst of poverty and filth, he was busy using state fund to celebrate his daughters wedding yesterday

BootyOnMe:

The white/yellow man is indeed superior.
He did the most honorable thing.
His cup had indeed runneth over.
Why wait for the Osama/Saddam/Gadaffi 'trick o treat'?

Jonathan is a 'black' man.
We know what to expect.

Indeed. Had another 9/11 event happened under the leadership of George Bush, he would have stepped aside immediately. Serious nations don't tolerate serial failure. From the independence day bombing till today, I have lost count of the deadly acts of terrorism Nigeria has witnessed under GEJ. Yet no one has stepped down let alone be fired.

He is 75 years and has served  three terms as  the  Italian prime minister, so calling it quit now is not early.                                                                                                                                                                               Paying under age girls for s e x is not part of what our  leaders can learn from Silvio Berlusconi.  Though very successful business man

He was a mafia don finally caught up in the tide of time.What is going on in the world now is inevitable,it the manifestation of what must be.In other words,it is the point of equilibrium where necessity rules.

The rise of the people and the demand for equity and justice.

Notice how the western media report the resignation of Silvio "bringing an end to a 17-year political era" if this were an african leader it wld be " bringing an end to dictatorship 17 year tyranny"

Examples abound of men who voluntarily relinquished the post/office they held as a result of negligence,lost battles&war,scandals of varying degrees,mistakes,no confidence votes,mismanagement/misappropriation,supporting one group to the detriment of others and the list goes on

In Africa and some parts of the Arabian peninsula extending towards Asia its a rare phenomenon for a positional leader to vacate the post to which he has been appointed,elected or selected.One begins to wonder why some men are more honourable than others,why some show a higher level of intelligence than others
E.g Gordon Brown who lost an election to Obasanjo seeking a 3rd term or Musiveni of Uganda currently on his 4th or 5th term(even to the extent of changing the constitution  to suit his thirst for power)
Much has also been said about the Arab despots who live in such extravagance.
To the question,one solution which seems attainable is a political apparatus that is not subservient to the current or future occupants of the highest office in the land.Unfortunately on the African continent this remains to be seen hence the masses/electorate take to the street in protests&demonstrations for reforms as witnessed with the on going Arab Spring
The ball squarely lies in our court to demand changes as at when due

African leaders never resign, what a sick continent.

good for Italy,hope they recover.

There is nothing honorable, democratic or sincere about european politicians its just that they've got you africans fooled - first of all democracy as is practised in the western world is merely a game - the western polticians are not independent but are merely front men for the real power brokers who operate behind the scenes, the real power lies in the hands of the international banking cartels which are run and owned by a few powerful european families - they also have controlling shares in all of the major multinationals this powerful elite known as the 1 % own and control the world's banking system they also control their various politicians - the polticians are merely glorified managers who implement policies created by this powerful group, they use the mirage of democracy to fool people in the west into thinking that they have a say on how their govts are run but these various political parties merely serve the same master - in the UK new labour and the tories are on the same side and are all serving the city of london who control the worlds financial markets, in the US the democrats and republicans are both servants of wall street and the multinational corporations - the elections are just a circus that they put on every four years to fool people into thinking that their vote counts - it doesnt - its either you vote in one of the two pre selected candidates or abstain from voting - independents never win presidential seats in america because they are not selected by the power brokers at the top who control everything, the same thing in the UK - prime ministers are all vetted and pre selected by the establishment (the power brokers).

therefore Berlusconi's decision to resign has nothing to do with him being an honorable man but more to do with the fact that he is no longer of any use to the power brokers who selected him to run the country for 17 years.

The western politicians run a criminal organisation on behalf of the real power brokers who finance their election campaigns and dictate govt policy, any politician who refuses to tow the line is deselected and gets thrown out of office - there are many ways to make a politician fall out of favour with the voters - you can dig up a lot of dirt on him and use it to blackmail him or you can have him meet with an accident - JFK tried to disengage from a pre determined script which had been written for him by the power brokers and they had him executed in full view of the public, so stop thinking that these people are honorable men , if you only knew the half of what these people are involved in you would recoil in horror.

the reason your african leaders spend 10, 20 and even 30 years in office in some cases is because they are selected and installed by western powers - they are allowed to stay as long as they want because they are there to open up african economies and allow western corporations to exploit the natural resources of these various countries. The only time that african leaders are toppled is when they fall out of favour with their western god fathers, you should ask yourself why western nations continue to arm these tyrants - isnt it obvious that they do so in order to enable these tyrants defend themselves from any opposing groups who might want to topple them.

the western powers do not give a damn about you having a democratic system of govt because if you did it would stand in the way of their objective which is to exploit and drain away your natural resources. the only way they can acheive that objective is to have an african collaborator in office for as long as possible, so stop fooling yourselves - the western powers are not your friends and they do not want anything positive for your economy or your people all they want is to continue to have access to your natural resources at the cheapest price possible.

cap28:

There is nothing honorable, democratic or sincere about european politicians its just that they've got you africans fooled - first of all democracy as is practised in the western world is merely a game - the western polticians are not independent but are merely front men for the real power brokers who operate behind the scenes, the real power lies in the hands of the international banking cartels which are run and owned by a few powerful european families - they also have controlling shares in all of the major multinationals this powerful elite known as the 1 % own and control the world's banking system they also control their various politicians - the polticians are merely glorified managers who implement policies created by this powerful group, they use the mirage of democracy to fool people in the west into thinking that they have a say on how their govts are run but these various political parties merely serve the same master - in the UK new labour and the tories are on the same side and are all serving the city of london who control the worlds financial markets, in the US the democrats and republicans are both servants of wall street and the multinational corporations - the elections are just a circus that they put on every four years to fool people into thinking that their vote counts - it doesnt - its either you vote in one of the two pre selected candidates or abstain from voting - independents never win presidential seats in america because they are not selected by the power brokers at the top who control everything, the same thing in the UK - prime ministers are all vetted and pre selected by the establishment (the power brokers).

therefore Berlusconi's decision to resign has nothing to do with him being an honorable man but more to do with the fact that he is no longer of any use to the power brokers who selected him to run the country for 17 years.

The western politicians run a criminal organisation on behalf of the real power brokers who finance their election campaigns and dictate govt policy, any politician who refuses to tow the line is deselected and gets thrown out of office - there are many ways to make a politician fall out of favour with the voters - you can dig up a lot of dirt on him and use it to blackmail him or you can have him meet with an accident - JFK tried to disengage from a pre determined script which had been written for him by the power brokers and they had him executed in full view of the public, so stop thinking that these people are honorable men , if you only knew the half of what these people are involved in you would recoil in horror.

the reason your african leaders spend 10, 20 and even 30 years in office in some cases is because they are selected and installed by western powers - they are allowed to stay as long as they want because they are there to open up african economies and allow western corporations to exploit the natural resources of these various countries. The only time that african leaders are toppled is when they fall out of favour with their western god fathers, you should ask yourself why western nations continue to arm these tyrants - isnt it obvious that they do so in order to enable these tyrants defend themselves from any opposing groups who might want to topple them.

the western powers do not give a damn about you having a democratic system of govt because if you did it would stand in the way of their objective which is to exploit and drain away your natural resources. the only way they can acheive that objective is to have an african collaborator in office for as long as possible, so stop fooling yourselves - the western powers are not your friends and they do not want anything positive for your economy or your people all they want is to continue to have access to your natural resources at the cheapest price possible.

Gbam!

The circumstances that led to the fall of Belusconi are not thesame as in naija. Italy is known to indebted to tune of almost US$2tr, about 120% of her annual GDP. The Italians are known to very good in tax evation and black maketeering. And economic growth in all the years he was pm averaged 0.5%. Then his messy lifestyle, his very unprime ministerial behavior on the diplomatic front, etc, etc.
In all fairness, GEJ is a million time beter than Mr Belusconi, and many his economic policies are geared towered avoiding the kind of situation Greece and to a lesser extent Italy, Spain, Ireland and Portugal now found themselves in.

The circumstances that led to the fall of Belusconi are not thesame as in naija. Italy is indebted to tune of almost US$2tr, about 120% of her annual GDP. The Italians are known to very good in tax evation and black maketeering. And economic growth in all the years he was pm averaged 0.5%. Then his messy lifestyle, his very unprime ministerial behavior on the diplomatic front, etc, etc.
In all fairness, GEJ is a million time beter than Mr Belusconi, and his economic policies are geared towered avoiding the kind of situation Greece and to a lesser extent Italy, Spain, Ireland and Portugal now found themselves in.

Which of the following is the greatest threat to Nigerian democracy?
A. Boko Haram
B. PDP
C. Poverty
D. Corruption
E. Zoning
All of the above!!!

btlasisi:

I will pick option D (Corruption). if corruption is reduced to the barest minmum all other problems in Nigeria would be more than 50% reduced.

Very well said. CORRUPTION has been, is, and will continue to be the greatest threat, not only to democracy, but to the very existence of Nigeria.