Prime Minister Enrico Letta rushed back from New York to try to prevent his government from collapsing but it looks as though the effort has failed.
In a dramatic surprise, all five ministers in Berlusconi’s party have resigned from the government coalition. Friday meetings on possibly delaying a planned sales tax increase failed and that appears to have kicked off the crisis.
The government may try to forge a fresh coalition but elections are also possible.
The story is still developing but at this point the euro will not react kindly at the open.
