Italian central bank governor Antonio Fazio went before a committee of government ministers today to justify his handling of a contested bank takeover battle.
Mr Fazio and ministers arrived at the Treasury Ministry for the meeting, which marked the first time Mr Fazio has had to defend himself personally from charges of overtly favouring Italian bidders at the expense of foreign suitors since the scandal surfaced in July.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government has largely defended the autocratic Mr Fazio in the affair, while opposition parties, leading economists and the influential employers' federation have all called on him to quit.
Whatever their position on Mr Fazio, all sides have agreed that the central bank, the Bank of Italy, needs reform, with the government demanding that it put its own house in order.
Some ministers have said they want Mr Fazio to outline the reform plans at the closed-door meeting of the government's credit and savings committee.
Mr Fazio is the only euro zone central banker with a mandate for life and is the most highly paid central banker in the Group of Seven industrialised countries, with a basic salary in 2003 of more than €600,000 a year.