Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has said he will step down, after media magnate Silvio Berlusconi left him without a majority in parliament and announced he would stand again for elections.
After talks with Monti, the country's president, Giorgio Napolitano, issued a statement saying Monti "does not consider it possible to carry on his mandate and consequently made clear his intention to present his resignation".
The technocrat took over the reins of power after the scandal-prone Berlusconi stepped down last year amid market pressure and a sense of desperation from his EU peers. Berlusconi's People of Freedom party had so far supported Monti's government, but on Thursday, his senators boycotted a vote on economic reforms.
The head of eurozone's bailout fund, Klaus Regling, told Süddeutsche Zeitung "markets have reacted with concern to the developments of last week" and insisted for Monti's successor not to undo what the technocrat has managed to push through in terms of reforms.
EU commission chief José Manuel Barroso also warned that the relative calm on financial markets does not mean Italy has overcome the crisis. "The upcoming elections should not serve as a pretext to question the necessity of reforms", Barroso said.
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