As Italy's debt crisis deepens, is Berlusconi turning a blind eye?

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's reassurance to his parliamentary colleagues during a speech on Wednesday did little allay about fears of a crisis in Eurozone's third-biggest economy. The Italian stock market in Milan ended that day down 2% and the media commentary was less than gratifying. But Berlusconi defended Italy's economic record against such negative assessments, pointing out that the country's banks had passed stress tests, and claimed that the crisis was born from international, rather than domestic, economic instability. Milan's authoritative newspaper, 'Corriere della Sera', referred to Italy's situation as 'a fire that needs to be put out' even if we all feel that the markets are treating Italy unfairly. Despite Berlusconi's claims, it is clear that sovereign debt crisis affecting Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain has made its way to Italy.