Italy crisis: Silvio Berlusconi resigns as PM

President Giorgio Napolitano is likely to appoint technocrat Mario Monti as his successor.
Mr Berlusconi lost his majority amid an acute debt crisis that threatens the eurozone. He promised to go once MPs had approved new austerity measures.
Crowds celebrated outside the presidential palace, shouting "buffoon" as he entered.
The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says Mr Berlusconi's last journey as prime minister was an undignified one.
Police struggled to control a large, hostile crowd which booed and jeered as his convoy swept by, and after his resignation he left by a side exit to avoid the protesters.

He said he felt "embittered" after hearing the insults.

Mr Berlusconi is Italy's longest-serving post-war prime minister. His premiership has recently been marred by many scandals.

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