More than a year ago, at the height of the Italian fiscal crisis, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was forced to resign. And when Mario Monti was appointed to succeed him, there was a collective sigh of relief, as the Italians marked the end of an era. He had never run for office – instead he was appointed by the president and the parliament. He was an outsider to local politics, with a solid background in the European Union halls of power, a man many thought was their only hope out of the mess.
