Italy seeks to build government

Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano is attending a series of meetings with senior politicians to try to agree on a new caretaker government after PM Silvio Berlusconi resigned on Saturday.

Italy is hopeful that new government will be named before the world's financial markets re-open on Monday.

Ex-EU commissioner Mario Monti remains favourite to take the top job.

But he might be faced stiff opposition as he tries to implement stringent austerity measures, correspondents say.

Mr Napolitano is attending 17 meetings throughout Sunday with the last set for 17:15 (16:15 GMT).

The new prime minister would be responsible for implementing austerity measures aimed at tackling Italy's debt crisis, which last week saw its cost of borrowing increase to record levels and prompted alarm across the eurozone.

Amid the crisis, Mr Berlusconi lost his parliamentary majority and promised to resign once measures required by the EU and designed to restore markets' confidence in the country's economy had been passed by both houses of parliament.

Members of the lower house voted 380-26 with two abstentions on Saturday, a day after the Senate agreed the measures that have now been signed into law.

Mr Berlusconi, who dominated the country's politics for 17 years and became Italy's longest-serving post-war prime minister, drove to the presidential palace on Saturday evening to tender his resignation.

Police struggled to control a large, hostile crowd which booed and jeered as his convoy swept by.

"Gangster" and "buffoon" were among the insults hurled at him, after his premiership became marred by scandals.

He is recently involved in many trials for fraud, corruption and having sex with an under-age girl, and has attracted media attention for so-called "bunga-bunga" parties which young women were allegedly paid to attend.

After his resignation, he left by a side exit to avoid the protesters.

But on Sunday he came out fighting, saying he was proud of his achievements and writing in a letter to a small conservative party: "I share your spirit and I hope to resume together the path to government".