THE GUARDIAN: Elsa Fornero weeps as she tries to explain sacrifices required of Italians after cabinet passes budget with net cuts of €24bn
Italy's "technocratic" government unveiled a package of painful austerity measures on Sunday night – so painful, indeed, that one of the ministers began to weep as she explained them to the press.
Announcing that all but the lowest pensions would be frozen next year, the welfare minister, Elsa Fornero, said: "We – and this really cost us dear, psychologically even – we've had to ask for sac…" But she was unable to say the word "sacrifices" and, brushing tears from her eyes, brought her presentation to an abrupt close.
The emergency budget, containing tax rises and spending cuts totalling a net €24bn (£21bn), is the latest of several passed this year aimed at restoring the credibility of the eurozone's biggest debtor nation. The government, headed by a former European commissioner, Mario Monti, is hoping to rush the measures through parliament before the next EU summit begins on Thursday. » | John Hooper in Rome | Sunday, December 04, 2011
