Outgoing premier Mario Monti said Wednesday he "cannot wait" to leave office, as efforts to give recession-hit Italy a new government following last month's inconclusive elections appeared to be foundering, dpa cited him as saying. Monti, who was installed in late 2011 as the head of a technocratic government, won international respect for stabilizing his country's debt crisis. But his star has waned since the elections, in which his centrist coalition ended up a poor fourth. "This government cannot wait to be relieved of its task," he told parliament. Centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani has been asked by President Giorgio Napolitano to try to form a new administration. But to succeed, Bersani needs to secure outside support in the upper house of parliament, the Senate, where he lacks a majority. -- SPA 20:15 LOCAL TIME 17:15 GMT تغريد
