Moneybox

There's a fine line between a "technocrat" and "someone businessmen like" and a fine line between "someone businessmen like" and "someone who's on the take" so:

Italian junior minister Carlo Malinconico has resigned because of his connections with a businessman now being investigated for corruption. At least part of his bills were allegedly paid for at a five-star hotel in the Tuscan resort of Il Pellicano in 2007 and 2008, newspaper reports said. As PM Mario Monti's undersecretary, he had responsibility for the publishing and newspaper industries.

The new government's transportation reforms seem good, though.