Berlusconi Goes on the Offensive Criticizes Monti

Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has launched a pre-election attack on his successor, Mario Monti, saying the country is now worse off.

He accused Mr Monti of following policies which benefited Berlin, saying Germany had lowered its own borrowing costs at the expense of other states.

Mr Monti is due to resign after Mr Berlusconi’s party withdrew its support for his government on Thursday.

Mr Berlusconi will run in the February election, but Mr Monti has not decided.

There has been speculation that Mr Monti could run in the election, by forming a new party or joining forces with a centrist grouping; or, that he could run for president when the job becomes vacant next year.

It is the sixth election campaign for Mr Berlusconi, leader of the conservative People of Freedom party, who is now 76.

The sudden political uncertainty in Italy, the third-biggest economy in the eurozone, has unsettled financial markets.

via BBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza