Berlusconi to propose new Bank of Italy chief Thursday

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said he will announce on Thursday his proposal for a new governor for the Bank of Italy to replace Mario Draghi, who will lead the European Central Bank from November. He told reporters on Wednesday that he would send a letter to the governing council of the central bank with his nomination but declined to give a name. The decision has to be taken by the end of this month. "I am bound to secrecy," he told reporters, when pressed for a response. "We have a solid country, a solid economy. There is real craziness on the financial markets," Berlusconi said. According to newspaper reports there has been a row between Berlusconi who favours the bank's current number two Fabrizio Saccomanni and Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti is pushing for Treasury director general Vittorio Grilli. Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, who has been on the ECB's rate-setting council since 2005 and has said he will be leaving Frankfurt, is also in the running. The nomination is being closely watched by investors as the new governor will have the thankless task of trying to bring Italy's public finances under control as the country struggles to stave off contagion from the eurozone debt crisis.