Mario Monti, a possible successor to Italy’s outgoing Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has been appointed a senator for life, a move some politicians believe is a sign that he will lead the next government in Rome.
The nomination by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano shows that Mr Monti is the President’s only choice to succeed Mr Berlusconi as Prime Minister, according to political commentator Enrico Mentana.
The move “reinforces the hypothesis that Mr Monti will be the one to lead a government at a high technical and institutional level, which seems to me the only solution to this dramatic situation”, said Giuliano Cazzola, a lawmaker from Mr Berlusconi’s PDL party.
In a statement, Mr Napolitano said the nomination was based on Mr Monti’s “merits in the social and scientific domains”, adding that Mr Berlusconi co-signed the nomination form.
Mr Monti, a 68-year-old economist, is now the director of Milan’s prestigious Bocconi University – considered the training ground for Italy’s financial elite.
He was put forward as European commissioner in 1994 by Mr Berlusconi’s first government and stayed on in Brussels even after Massimo D’Alema took over as Prime Minister – burnishing his image as being above party politics.
Other leading candidates
Angelino Alfano: A Berlusconi loyalist since the tycoon entered politics in the early 1990s, he has risen rapidly through the ranks, becoming Justice Minister and then leader of Mr Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party.
The 41-year-old lawyer is relatively young for Italian politics and is best known as the architect of a law intended to shield Mr Berlusconi from prosecution, which was then overturned by a Constitutional Court ruling.
Gianni Letta: The 76-year-old former Cabinet minister and Mr Berlusconi’s loyal right-hand man for two decades, Mr Letta avoids the limelight but has been credited with cultivating relations with the US and with the Vatican in the wake of increasingly sordid revelations about the Prime Minsiter.
Mr Letta met Mr Berlusconi over 25 years ago when he left Il Tempo newspaper and joined Mr Berlusconi’s television empire. He could be the man to lead an expanded centre-right coalition.
Giuliano Amato: A two-time Prime Minister with international experience, the 73-year-old has been dubbed Dottor Sottile (Doctor Subtle) by the Italian press for his ability to create consensus and for his political savvy.
Mr Amato was a key ally of Bettino Craxi – a former socialist Prime Minister who was also close to Mr Berlusconi.
He is a member of the main opposition Democratic Party but is respected by both sides of the political spectrum.
Mr Amato could be the head of a national unity government.