ROME, March 31 (Reuters) – European Central Bank President
Mario Draghi phoned Italian President Giorgio Napolitano after
media reports that the 87-year-old head of state was planning to
resign early to clear the way for new elections, newspapers
reported on Sunday.
Napolitano pledged on Saturday that he would stay in office
until the end of his term on May 15 following reports that he
planned to step down to break the deadlock created by last
month’s election, which left no party able to form a government.
The move would be needed to allow Italy to return to the
polls before the summer holiday period, because of
constitutional provisions which prevent a president from
dissolving parliament in the final months of his mandate.
The main newspapers on Sunday all reported that Draghi had
called Napolitano to express concern that his resignation would
leave Italy without leadership at a time of mounting tension in
financial markets, exacerbated by the bank crisis in Cyprus.
An ECB spokesman declined to comment. No comment was
immediately available from Napolitano’s office.
Helped by the ECB’s pledge to backstop countries by buying
their bonds if necessary, financial markets have not shown the
levels of panic seen during the crisis which brought down Silvio
Berlusconi’s last government in 2011.
However a poorly received auction of mid and long-term debt
last week underlined the danger of a renewed bout of turmoil
that could destabilize Italy’s 2-trillion-euro public debt if
the impasse continues.
Rumours have been circulating for days that Moody’s is
preparing to cut its rating on Italy’s sovereign debt, which is
already only two notches above “junk” grade, partly due to the
uncertain political outlook.
