Silvio Berlusconi, Italy Debt Crisis | featured news

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi resigned today after parliament's lower chamber passed European-demanded reforms, ending a 17-year political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing the country back from the brink of economic crisis.

Italy's Senate approved economic reforms intended to reverse a collapse of market confidence on Friday, kicking off a rapid transition that will end the era of Silvio Berlusconi and clear the way for an emergency government within days.

Italian borrowing costs reached breaking point on Wednesday after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's insistence on elections instead of an interim government opened the way to prolonged instability and delays to long-promised economic reforms.