The Malaysian Insider :: Breaking Views
The Malaysian Insider :: Breaking Views |
| Italy PM Monti resignation expected today Posted: 21 Dec 2012 08:25 AM PST ROME, Dec 21 — Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti will hand in his resignation to the president after parliament approves the 2013 budget later today, opening the way to an election expected in February, political and government sources said. The former European commissioner, appointed to lead an unelected government to save Italy from financial crisis a year ago, has kept his own political plans a closely guarded secret but he has faced growing pressure to seek a second term.  Prime Minister Monti: To reveal his plans for the future on Sunday. — Reuters pic Ordinary Italians, weary of repeated tax hikes and spending cuts, appear less convinced and opinion polls show little sign that voters are ready to give Monti a second term, with a survey this week showing 61 per cent saying he should not stand. Whether or not Monti runs, he is expected to overshadow an election that will be fought out over the painful measures he has introduced to try to rein in Italy's huge public debt and revive its stagnant economy. The lower house passed a confidence motion on the budget and is expected to give final approval at around 6 p.m. (1700 GMT), wrapping up its last piece of business before President Georgio Napolitano dissolves parliament and sends Italians to the polls, probably on February 24. Monti will make a statement to his cabinet at 7 p.m. and is expected to tender his resignation to Napolitano immediately afterwards. The widely anticipated move comes after Monti's technocrat government lost the support of Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right People of Freedom (PDL) party in parliament earlier this month. Monti is due to hold a news conference on Sunday at which he is expected to outline his intentions. These could include standing as a candidate in the election or endorsing a centrist alliance committed to his reform agenda. The centre-left Democratic Party (PD) has held a strong lead in the polls for months but a centrist alliance led by Monti could gain enough support in the Senate to force the PD to seek a coalition deal that could help shape the economic agenda. Berlusconi in wings Senior figures from the alliance, including both the UDC party, which is close to the Catholic Church, and a new group founded by Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo have been hoping to gain Monti's backing. He has not said clearly whether he intends to run, but he has dropped heavy hints that he will continue to push a reform agenda that has the backing of both Italy's business community and its European partners. The PD has promised to stick to the deficit reduction targets Monti has agreed with the European Union and says it will maintain the broad course he has set while putting more emphasis on reviving growth. Berlusconi's return to the political front line has however added to the already considerable uncertainty about the centre-right's intentions and increased the likelihood of a messy and potentially bitter election campaign. The billionaire tycoon has fluctuated between attacking the government's "Germano-centric" austerity policies and promising to stand aside if Monti will agree to lead the centre right, but now appears to have settled on an anti-Monti line. He has pledged to cut taxes and scrap the hated IMU housing tax that Monti imposed. He has also sounded a stridently anti-German line that has at times echoed the tone of the populist 5-Star Movement headed by maverick comic Beppe Grillo. Both the PD and the PDL, both of which supported Monti's technocrat government in parliament, have made it clear they would not be happy if he ran against them and there have been foretastes of the kind of attacks he can expect. Former centre-left prime minister Massimo D'Alema said in an interview last week that it would be "morally questionable" for Monti to run against the PD, which backed all of his reforms and which has pledged to maintain his pledges to European partners. Berlusconi, who has mounted an intensive media campaign in the past few days, echoed that criticism this week, saying Monti risked losing the credibility he had won over the past year and becoming a "little political figure". — Reuters |
| EU, Russia condemn Israeli settlement expansion plans Posted: 21 Dec 2012 08:12 AM PST BRUSSELS, Dec 21 — The European Union and Russia today denounced Israel's plans to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank and urged Israelis and Palestinians to take "bold and concrete steps towards peace". Israeli officials said this week they would press on with plans to build 6,000 homes for settlers on land claimed by Palestinians, defying criticism from Western powers who fear the move will damage already faint hopes for a peace accord.  Foreign Minister Lavrov meets with EU's Catherine Ashton. — Reuters file pic E1 is a wedge of land between East Jerusalem and the West Bank where Israel had previously held off under US pressure. "The EU and the Russian Federation underline the urgency of renewed, structured and substantial peace efforts in 2013," said the joint statement after an EU-Russia summit in Brussels. Stung by de facto recognition of Palestinian sovereignty by the UN General Assembly last month, Israel announced it would expand settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Most countries deem the settlements illegal and have been especially troubled by Israel's declared intent to build in E1. The EU and Russia, which together with the United States and the United Nations make up the Quartet of Middle East mediators, said the settlements were illegal under international law and were an obstacle to peace. "The EU and the Russian Federation will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties," they said. It was time to take "bold and concrete steps towards peace between Palestinians and Israelis", they said, calling for "direct and substantial negotiations without preconditions". The EU and Russia called for the unconditional opening of crossings for the flow of goods and people to and from the Gaza Strip, and urged Israel to avoid any step that would undermine the financial situation of the Palestinian Authority. They urged the Palestinian leadership to use Palestine's new UN status constructively and avoid steps that would deepen lack of trust and lead further away from a negotiated solution. — Reuters |
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