Antonio Fazio, the Bank of Italy governor whose defiance in the face of criticism recently hit the international headlines and lead to some embarassing photos in Washington still refuses to go. Berlusconi seems almost resigned to the fact that he may stay:

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s prime minister, on Tuesday told parliament he had already done everything in his power to secure the resignation of Antonio Fazio….The government could not intervene directly, and so I did the only thing that could be done. I appealed to the governor, to his sensitivity and to his conscience, Mr Berlusconi said.