Uncertainty reigns in Italy

Caught under the weight of a massive debt that has reached 120% of its GDP, Italy has been scrambling to regain economic stability and save itself from Europes sovereign debt crisis. To this end, under pressure from financial policymakers, the eurozones third largest economy has pledged to balance its budget. In August, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced that his country would be out of the red by 2013. However, during the G20 meeting in Cannes in October, he failed to sketch out any concrete reforms, and Italy was subsequently put under the financial supervision of the International Monetary Fund. Seventeen years after entering politics with a bang, Berlusconis days at the helm seem numbered. After losing an absolute majority in Parliament on November 9, he said he would step down once lawmakers approved the austerity measures prescribed by the EU.