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Monti: The sober technocrat who saved Italy from default

The economy has also remained in recession even though Monti has launched a series of reforms aimed at boosting its growth potential, including a reform of labour market legislation to make hirings and firings easier for employers.

As austerity bites, Monti’s popularity ratings have plunged from more than 60 percent shortly after he took over to around 30 percent in recent weeks.

He has, however, managed to tame the financial markets and the yield on 10-year sovereign bonds has dropped from more than 7.0 percent when he took over to around 4.4 percent this week.

Monti has said that Italy was forced to swallow “a bitter medicine” because “an aspirin” was not enough after years of mismanagement of public finances.

In a piqued reply to criticism of his economic record from Berlusconi earlier this month, Monti said it would have been impossible “to spare Italy from suffering the same fate as Greece and make it grow at a rapid rate”.

Italians have generally enjoyed their country’s new-found international credibility and an end to Berlusconi’s endless sex scandals, even though Monti’s speeches on economic complexities have been soporific for some.

A satirical impression of Monti by a well-known comedian portrays the academic as a robot who speaks in a textbook-sounding language.

Monti has confessed to being envious of at least one of Berlusconi’s qualities: “Even though I’m not very good at remembering them or telling them, I do like jokes. Berlusconi has a real art for telling jokes.”

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