Italy backs £42bn austerity bill as minister admits that 'like Titanic' not even rich will be spared

Daily Mail
"A crucial £42billion austerity bill has cleared its first stage in the Italian parliament - amid calls for gaffe-prone prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to resign.The package was being rushed through to stop growing fears that Italy - the third largest Eurozone economy - was sliding into the same financial abyss as Greece. ....Government officials also warned that taxes would also rise as Italy battled to balance its books, in the face of a deficit of more than £1trillion - or 120 per cent of GDP. That compares to Greece's national debt of £220billion (158 per cent of its GDP) and the UK's debts of £650billion (47.2 per cent of GDP)."