"As Monti was arriving at the presidential palace for his first big moment on the national stage, television stations began showing a video message from Berlusconi, who had been jeered from office by a raucous crowd on Saturday."

President urges country to unite behind new leader as outgoing prime minister says he will continue to be a force.

Italy’s premier-designate, former European commissioner and economist Mario Monti talks to journalists at the Quirinale presidential palace in Rome. Photograph: Roberto Monaldo/AP

The former EU commissioner Mario Monti has been asked to form Italy's next government after a day of hectic consultations and a televised initiative by Silvio Berlusconi who announced he would continue to be a force in politics.

Monti accepted the mandate, declaring Italy had to become "a point of strength, and not of weakness, in the [European] Union, of which we were founders". But hopes that his new cabinet might be sworn in by the time markets opened after the weekend were not realised.

The former Brussels commissioner, a distinguished liberal economist, decided to sound out party leaders on the strength of his likely majority in parliament before agreeing to unveil his government and put it to confidence votes in the two chambers.

In uncharacteristically blunt remarks, President Giorgio Napolitano told Italians: "This is the moment of the test" – its treasury needs buyers for €200bn (£170bn) of the nation's debt by the end of April. He said: "The interest of the country is in broad support for the [Monti] government. It is the point on which all the political parties should come together."

As Monti was arriving at the presidential palace for his first big moment on the national stage, television stations began showing a video message from Berlusconi, who had been jeered from office by a raucous crowd on Saturday. He declared: "To those who celebrated what has been described as my exit from the scene, I say that from tomorrow I shall be redoubling my efforts to reform tax, justice and the institutions of Italy."

Berlusconi, who was clearly appalled by the demonstration that accompanied his resignation, said his "generous and responsible" gesture had been "greeted with whistles and insults". But he confirmed that his party would give its backing to a new Monti government.

Last week, after Berlusconi delayed his departure from office, the interest rate on Italy's government bonds shot above 7% to a level no eurozone state has reached without subsequently needing a bailout. He had earlier said that, after his resignation, his party would choose a new candidate for prime minister.

His video message, criticised by one opposition leader as recalling the communication methods of the late Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, did not reverse that position. But it did suggest Berlusconi foresaw a longer, more active political career than had earlier been assumed. Berlusconi stepped down just hours after parliament gave final approval to a package of economic reforms and deficit-reduction measures agreed last month with the EU to stem mounting panic over Italy's ability to repay its €1.9tn public debts.

Napolitano spent Sunday closeted with leading political figures, sounding out their views, as required by the constitution. But whereas the process normally takes a week or more, given the urgency of the situation, the talks were compressed into a single day.

Remarks by party leaders after seeing Napolitano showed there was a clear divergence of opinion on the prospective Monti government's mandate and its lifespan.

Pierluigi Bersani, the leader of Italy's biggest opposition group, the Democratic party (PD), said the incoming government should be charged with "urgent reforms" that included an overhaul of the electoral law. The head of the Christian Democrat Centre Union, Pier Ferdinando Casini, said he would like to see a Monti administration last out the current legislature, which is not due to end until the spring of 2013.

But the secretary of Berlusconi's party, the Freedom People (PdL), took a very different approach. Angelino Alfano, who was named by the outgoing prime minister last week as the PdL's most likely prime ministerial candidate, said the duration of a Monti government "can only be linked to [its] programme and its implementation".

The PdL had already made clear that its programme should include only those measures passed on Saturday. After that, many of Berlusconi's supporters would like the country to go back to the polls.

On Saturday night, a crowd of more than 1,000 gathered outside the presidential palace to jeer Berlusconi and throw coins at his car as he arrived to hand in his resignation. He left ignominiously through a side exit. Monti made no comment on the send-off. Instead, he looked up at the clear blue sky as he emerged from his hotel and said: "Have you seen what a splendid day it is?" He and his wife, Elsa, then set off for mass.

Source: The Guardian (UK)