Earlier on Tuesday, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gave his statement of resignation. Berlusconi announced his decision to resign from office after a series of contentious issues surrounding the debt crisis in Europe.
Italy isn’t the first country to lose its head of state over the debt crisis. Last week, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou announced his resignation as well. Both heads of state have endured substantial blame for the economic crisis experienced in their home countries and the rest of the European Union.
Papandreou and Bersculoni are going to continue to work on resolving the economic mess their respective countries are now facing. They have spoken with members of the G20 summit and have offered assurances that they are going to wait until reforms are passed. The European Union has worked very hard on implementing these reforms on the behalf of the countries that need them.
A premature resignation of either head of state could substantially lessen the likelihood that these financial plans will be implemented in time. Some economists have suggested that the Greek government could actually default within a month if the government was not restructured. The policies include a bailout package to keep Greece from defaulting and possibly being forced to leave the EU. The value of this bailout package is approximately $180 billion.
Berlusconi agreed to resign after one of his allies pointed out that his serving as prime minister could stand in the way of the financial package. Berlusconi agreed to step down in the interests of protecting his country and the rest of the European Union. Italy is the third largest country in the eurozone, which means a potential default could cause serious damages to all member nations.
Papandreou resigned after he lost the political support of his country. After the rest of the European Union set up a bailout package, Papandreou insisted on holding a referendum to decide if it was appropriate for the rest of the country to use. Many of his constituents were concerned that this referendum could cost the country the bailout package and spread the debt crisis further. Whether or not their fears were justified, Papandreou realized he had lost the support of his country and agreed to resign two years before his term was set to expire.
Both nations are struggling to keep the debt crisis in check and maintain the support of their EU brethren. They hope that Berlusconi and Papandreou’s successors will be able to resolve the problems they are facing.
