Pier Ferdinando Casini, speaker of Italy's lower house of parliament, was elected on Wednesday as president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which links 140 legislatures worldwide, Reuters reported. Casini, who leads Union of Christian Democrats (UDC), a member of Italy's ruling coalition, succeeds Sergio Paez of Chile at the head of the Geneva-based body. The IPU post is one of the highest international positions held by an Italian, with candidates put forward by Rome for a series of recent top world jobs falling by the wayside. "Italians have to make themselves heard more in international organisations," said Casini following election.
