‘Free market champion’ takes over as Italy PM

Italy: Italy’s Mario Monti, who took over as prime minister and finance minister on Wednesday, is a free-market advocate who has tempered his message of “sacrifices” for Italians with a call for civil unity.

The former European commissioner is under immediate pressure to implement painful reforms and possibly more budget cuts to restore Italy’s credibility on the financial markets and reduce its heaving mountain of debt. A regular church-goer, he attended mass in the famous chapel of Rome’s Sapienza University on Sunday before receiving the nomination to be Italy’s future premier from President Giorgio Napolitano.

After receiving the nomination, he has immediately moved to launch wide-ranging talks with political parties, trade unions, big business, as well as women’s and youth associations to build consensus for the challenges ahead. Monti has spoken of the need for “social equity” and “economic, social and civil growth” perhaps an olive branch to unions and an attempt to counter criticism of his role as advisor to Wall Street juggernaut Goldman Sachs.

On Monday he called for: “A project of recovery and hope not only for the economy but also for the fundamental values of a true civil society.” He has also spoken about the “historic challenge” of building cohesion between northern and southern Italy as a precondition for national growth. Rome, AFP