AlHijjah 17, 1432, Nov 13, 2011, SPA -- Italy's president raced to appoint an emergency government on Sunday to face a crisis endangering the whole euro zone after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned to the jeers of thousands of protesters, Reuters reported. Just a few hours after central Rome echoed with street parties celebrating Berlusconi's departure, President Giorgio Napolitano began a rapid round of meetings with political parties at his hilltop palace to find a new prime minister and government. The consultations, faster than is normal, are due to wind up at about 1700 GMT, when Napolitano is expected to ask former European Commissioner Mario Monti to form a government largely of technocrats in time for the opening of markets on Monday. If he manages to secure sufficient backing in parliament, Monti will push through reforms agreed by Berlusconi with euro zone leaders to cut Italy's massive debt and revive a chronically stagnant economy. -- SPA
