LESTER HOLT, anchor:
Big news from overseas tonight. The flamboyant billionaire prime minister of
Italy
,
Silvio Berlusconi
, is out, handing in his resignation late today to that country's president. After surviving years of scandal, it was ultimately an economic crisis that brought him down. Our chief foreign correspondent
Richard Engel
is in
Rome
tonight.
RICHARD ENGEL reporting:
"Buffoon, buffoon," crowds shouted tonight in front of the presidential palace in
Rome
. And "mafioso, mafioso."
Crowd:
Mafioso! Mafioso! Mafioso!
ENGEL:
The demonstrators hope their insults would reach inside the palace as
Silvio Berlusconi
handed in his resignation. When word came that the deed was done and
Berlusconi
was out, they sang...
Crowd:
ENGEL:
...danced, and toasted the end of the political career of a man many considered an embarrassment.
Berlusconi
has just stepped down as
Italy
's prime minister. And tonight thousands here are saying 'good riddance.'
Unidentified Woman #1:
Now we're happy because we're free. We want a leader who is serious, who represents us.
ENGEL:
Berlusconi
was brought down by
Italy
's economic crisis, not his many scandals or bunga-bunga sex parties, as he called them.
Prime Minister SILVIO BERLUSCONI:
ENGEL:
In
Rome
's
Campo de' Fiori
earlier today, "Hallelujah," one woman said.
Unidentified Woman #2:
Hallelujah!
Unidentified Man:
ENGEL:
'Finally, we got rid of him,' agreed this man. For years,
Berlusconi
, a media tycoon worth $9 billion, seemed untouchable. He's been in court 2,500 times by his own count, accused of attempting to bribe a judge, corruption and abuse of power. There was
Ruby
, the dancer he allegedly had sex with when she was only 17.
Berlusconi
laughed it off and
Ruby
became a celebrity. Many Italians shrugged off the scandals. But they could not tolerate when international creditors lost faith in
Italy
's economy and its leaders. So today
Italy
passed its own tough austerity measures with more to come and
Berlusconi
was forced out. Protesters are now in front of
Berlusconi
's home trying to make sure he does not get any
sleep tonight
. The new prime minister here is widely expected to be
Mario Monti
, a respected economist and university professor, somebody most people consider serious, even understated.
HOLT:
Richard Engel
in
Rome
tonight.
Richard
, thanks.
“ ”