‘The market will start freaking out’
When Silvio Berlusconi arrived in Cannes, the external pressures on his government were known the world over. Just two weeks earlier, at yet another emergency EU summit in Brussels, Mr Sarkozy and Ms Merkel had famously giggled to each other when asked by a French reporter if they trusted Mr Berlusconi to implement promised economic reforms. After the two walked offstage, Ms Merkel turned to Mr Sarkozy and said: “We’ve never been so efficient with just a silent movie,” according to a top aide who overheard the remark.
The financial markets were showing no more confidence in Mr Berlusconi: on the Wednesday of the Cannes summit’s official kick-off, borrowing costs on Italy’s 10-year bonds, which just a month ...
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