Berlusconi faces more calls for his resignation

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi won a vote on the budget today, but due to the fact 321 deputies abstained from the vote, he failed to gain an overall majority.

The opposition immediately demanded that Berlusconi step down, a call which has been echoed by his main coalition partner the Northern League.

Many feel Berlusconi has lost the confidence of the country to deal with its growing debt crisis, and there is speculation the Berlusconi premiership may be coming to an end.

“This is almost certainly the end of Berlusconi’s era,” said James Walston, Professor of International Relations at The American University of Rome. “All of his allies have decided to leave him – just about, there are a few diehards who will stay with him – but he has come to the end of his line.”

Walston told Vatican Radio a new Prime Minister may be able to bring the change to Italy that is needed to calm markets.

“The new leader, whoever he is, will have some sort of bounce in the markets. There will be a honeymoon period,” he said.

“The major problem over the past few months has been Italian inaction. Italy needs a growth package and Italy needs to cut public spending,” Walston continued. “There are a million ways of doing both of those things, but the new government will have to work out ways which are socially acceptable – that won’t cause major unrest – and they will also have to do it in such a way that these two competing…economic aims are actually carried out, and that won’t be easy.”

Listen to the full interview by Charles Collins with Professor James Walston: