Italy's president appointed former European Commissioner Mario Monti on Sunday to head a new government charged with implementing urgent reforms to end a crisis that has endangered the whole euro zone.
After a frenetic weekend during which parliament passed the reforms and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi stepped down to the jeers of hostile crowds, President Giorgio Napolitano asked Monti to form a government, expected to be composed largely of technocrats.
"The president of the republic has received Senator Mario Monti and conferred a mandate to form a government," said a statement from the presidential palace.
The respected economist, made a life Senator last week, is likely to name around 12 ministers on Monday, political sources said. He will have declared support in parliament from opposition parties, centrists and Berlusconi's PDL party.
A process that normally takes several days or weeks was completed over the weekend as Napolitano raced to restore market confidence that collapsed disastrously last week.
Following weeks of political uncertainty and growing calls from international partners for action to control its debt, Italy's borrowing costs soared to unmanageable levels last week, threatening a Europe-wide financial meltdown.