Chaos in Rome: Berlusconi Tricks Spark Fear in Europe

[unhappycamper]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/rome-government-could-collapse-as-berlusconi-ministers-resign-a-925385.html



Silvio Berlusconi has plunged Italy into another political crisis. It's a wake-up call for Europe and a reminder that, despite what the recent German election campaign suggested, the euro crisis is by no means over yet.

Chaos in Rome: Berlusconi Tricks Spark Fear in Europe
September 30, 2013 – 06:07 PM

When Silvio Berlusconi was still prime minister of Italy, a telephone call was recorded between him and a tv starlet whose company he liked to keep. In it, the prime minister sighed that being the Italian leader and a politician was little more than a bothersome side job and that he would much prefer to just spend his time with babes.

Since this weekend, it is likely that many across Europe are wishing Berlusconi's interest in starlets would take up all of his attention. The resignation of five ministers belonging to Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party will, after all, mean more than just the collapse of the current government in Rome. The political trick is reminder of one of the greatest uncertainties of this euro crisis: The political foolishness of member states. Berlusconi's transparent attempt to prevent his threatened expulsion from the Italian Senate -- as a result of his legally upheld conviction on tax evasion charges -- is a prime example of such political recklessness.

But this is about more than just Berlusconi. It also has to do with the failure of an entire crisis strategy. Brussels has made a serious effort to help stabilize the Italian political landscape following Berlusconi's departure. The purchase of Italian government bonds through the European Central Bank (ECB) helped to limit attacks by financial market speculators against Italy and to keep interest rates on loans to the country at a bearable level.

The European Commission also officially closed deficit violation proceedings against the country, although it did repeatedly warn of how serious the situation is. Noting earlier this month an uptick in Italy's borrowing costs, the European Union's commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, Olli Rehn, said, "To my mind this is a warning sign to Italy to ensure political stability and fiscal sustainability."

[Laelth]

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-Laelth