Italy's economic woes

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is due to speak to parliament later today to try to calm fears over escalating market turmoil that has brought the country to the brink of a Greek-style financial crisis.
A 48 billion euro austerity package, passed last month has so far failed to calm market fears.

“ I think if we are fair to Italy there has been a long term effort to cope with high debt which has been relatively successful in the past”, says Vanessa Rossi, Associate Research Fellow in International Economics at UK based research institute Chatham House.

Speaking to Lydia O’Kane on Italy’s economic challenges she adds that, on the other side however, there is a weariness that is making it very difficult to reinvigorate those efforts to reduce debt. Listen