Berlusconi hopes to return to government

Silvio Berlusconi has said he plans to return to the Italian government, a day after he resigned as the country’s prime minister. “I share your views and hope to resume together the path to government,” Berlusconi said in a letter to the far-right La Destra party on Sunday. The 75-year-old billionaire said he was proud of his government’s record on tackling Italy’s debt crisis. The crisis, he added, was sparked by “the logic of minor blackmail.” Berlusconi, who dominated the country's politics for 17 years, resigned on Saturday after the lower house of parliament approved new austerity measures, demanded by the European Union to help trim Italy’s 1.9 trillion euro debt. President Giorgio Napolitano, who is holding consultations with senior politicians to try to agree on an emergency government today, is expected to nominate technocrat Mario Monti as Berlusconi’s successor.