Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, has resigned from his post in a move aimed at easing the political crisis surrounding Italy's economic woes.<br /><br />Berlusconi stepped down after parliament passed a controversial austerity plan that will cut the state's expenses and attempt to control its ballooning deficit.<br /><br />Al Jazeera's Barbara Serra was outside the presidential palace in Rome, the Italian capital, as events unfolded.
