It seemed like the usual threat (and it may still be) but the intention expressed by Silvio Berlusconi to immediately pull the plug on the government if the Democratic Party votes for his forfeiture as senator is quickly raising the political temperature. The thermometer is Piazza Affari which, just over an hour after the closing, loses 1,75 percent and is the worst European list.
It is true that the Syrian syndrome weighs heavily on the markets and the risk of an approaching military intervention against Assad, but the political risk is undoubtedly the additional competitive disadvantage that cripples the Italian stock exchange.
The Democratic Party has tried to counter Berlusconi's offensive (“Enough threats” argued Minister Franceschni) but, if he doesn't make yet another turnaround, this time Berlusconi appears more determined than the previous occasions to provoke the crisis.
The PDL's attempt to buy time in the Junta for the elections and immunities of the Senate failed and on Monday the rapporteur Augello will give his report on the Berlusconi case and on the request for dismissal from senator. But it remains to be seen whether the government will still be standing on Monday. This time, however, a Letta bis would be less problematic for dissent both in the PDL and among the grillini could actually materialize.
