Early this morning the Economy Minister, Domenico Siniscalco, has officially resigned his post, following what was described as a "cold meeting" with Silvio Berlusconi late last night. The post is vacated at a sensitive time just days before an important IMF meeting in Washington where the Italian government was expecting to gain some support for its upcoming budget.
Siniscalco has made it clear that he did not want to be seen at the IMF meeting side-by-side with the now controversial president of the Bank of Italy who has ignored repeated calls to resign himself.
The position of Economy minister may be filled in by Silvio Berlusconi himself at a time when the new budget for the government is eagerly awaited to provide some solutions for the ongoing economic crisis. However, the possibility that a new government needs to be formed is not excluded.
Opposition leaders are calling for the government to admit that it is in crisis, According to the leader of the "Democratici di Sinistra" party, Piero Fassino, this signifies the definitive collapse of the government, which has been in upheaval for months. Berlusconi and the centre-right should resign and take the country to elections immediately. The president of the Confindustria Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has also commented that this is another very worrying development for the Italian economy – I intend to call and talk to him personally.
