New Italian P.M. Sworn In

Technocrats to the rescue. Mario Monti, who was sworn in as Italy’s new prime minister Wednesday, formed a government without a single politician. Instead, it is composed of bankers, diplomats, business executives, and economic experts. Monti, a former European Union commissioner, says he will serve both as Italy’s premier and as its economic minister while he tries to avert an impending financial disaster that threatens the entire euro zone. Monti’s ascension to the new post officially ends Silvio Berlusconi’s three-and-a-half-year government and 17-year political reign.