Italy nominates new PM to help solve financial crisis

Former EU commissioner Mario Monti was appointed Italy's prime minister-designate Sunday to form an emergency government to lead the country out of its debt-driven financial crisis. Monti, a highly respected economist, accepted a formal mandate from Italian President Giorgio Napolitano after former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned Saturday, following the approval by both chambers of parliament of an austerity package requested by the European Union. Monti's nomination was formally announced after Napolitano concluded a series of meetings with political leaders in which both the ruling coalition and the opposition largely agreed to back the appointment. The new prime minister is now due to present a list of his cabinet ministers to the president and then to win a parliamentary confidence vote as early as Monday or Tuesday, according to local media. The next elections are due in 2013. There is no official time limit for the technical government, though it is predicted that Monti will make way for polls once he implements the austerity package. "I intend to fulfill this task with a great sense of responsibility and service towards our country," Monti told a press conference after his nomination. In a particularly trying time for Europe and markets as a whole, Monti stressed, Italy must restart growth with attention to social equality, and "redeem itself" in order to give the next generation a concrete future of "dignity and hope."