Italian president Giorgio Napolitano steps down
Giorgio Napolitano, 89, had been expected to step down because of his advanced years
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano handed in his resignation as head of state yesterday, leaving Prime Minister Matteo Renzi with the politically delicate task of finding a successor.
The 89-year-old Napolitano, widely respected outside Italy as a guarantor of stability during the euro-zone crisis, had always been expected to step down before the end of his second term in office because of his advanced age.
With elections in Greece later this month and the European Central Bank under growing pressure to take unprecedented steps to fight the risk of deflation, the change adds to an increasingly uncertain climate in the euro zone.
Italy is struggling to emerge from years of recession and the government faces hurdles to its economic and constitutional reform agenda.
Renzi hailed Napolitano's contribution to ensuring political stability during nine turbulent years in office and said he expected a successor would be chosen by the end of the month.
In his nine-year reign, the man known as King Giorgio oversaw the end of the Silvio Berlusconi era. Berlusconi, the former prime minister and media magnate, stepped down amid a swirl of prostitution and tax fraud allegations.