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| Italy election campaign begins as parliament dissolved | Italy election campaign begins as parliament dissolved |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Italy's parliament has been dissolved by President Giorgio Napolitano following caretaker Prime Minister Mario Monti's resignation. | Italy's parliament has been dissolved by President Giorgio Napolitano following caretaker Prime Minister Mario Monti's resignation. |
| The move paves the way for national elections expected in February. | The move paves the way for national elections expected in February. |
| Mr Monti, brought in last year to form a technocratic government, stepped down on Friday after MPs passed his budget. | Mr Monti, brought in last year to form a technocratic government, stepped down on Friday after MPs passed his budget. |
| It followed the withdrawal of support from former PM Silvio Berlusconi's party. Mr Berlusconi is to run again. Mr Monti has not unveiled his plans. | It followed the withdrawal of support from former PM Silvio Berlusconi's party. Mr Berlusconi is to run again. Mr Monti has not unveiled his plans. |
| 'Difficult but fascinating' | |
| After meeting political leaders, President Napolitano told reporters: "I have just signed the decree for the dissolution of parliament." | After meeting political leaders, President Napolitano told reporters: "I have just signed the decree for the dissolution of parliament." |
| He called for a "measured and constructive electoral campaign", and indicated that the election date is likely to be 24 February though he did not confirm it, the AFP news agency reports. | |
| Mr Monti, who is to remain head of an interim administration until the elections, is expected to announce on Sunday whether he will run again. | |
| Although the economist and former European commissioner cannot stand for election himself as he is already a senator for life, there is speculation that he could become the unofficial leader of a centrist coalition and return as a minister. | |
| Since taking office in November 2011, Mr Monti and his non-party team of ministers have implemented economic austerity measures in the form of spending cuts and tax hikes. | |
| In his last speech before his resignation, Mr Monti said the last 13 months had been "difficult but fascinating". | |
| "The work we did... has made the country more trustworthy... more competitive and attractive to foreign investors," he told foreign diplomats in Rome. | |
| The election was triggered after Silvio Berlusconi's party withdrew its support from Mr Monti's government, accusing it of following policies that "were too German-centric". | |
| The three-times prime minister has said he intends to campaign on an anti-austerity platform, pledging to cut taxes and create jobs. | |
| But the polls show Mr Berlusconi is trailing a centre-left alliance led by Pier Luigi Bersani, which broadly supports a continuation of Mr Monti's economic programme while pledging to ease some of the pressure on the poorest members of society. |