Silvio Berlusconi has handed in his resignation as a crowd of several thousand people gathered outside the presidential palace to hurl abuse at Italy’s departing prime minister.

Screams of “buffoon”, “mafioso” and “shame” greeted Mr Berlusconi as his official car arrived at the Quirinale palace where Giorgio Napolitano, head of state, accepted his resignation on Saturday night and prepared to ask Mario Monti, professor of economics and former European commissioner, to form a caretaker government led by technocrats.

Some Italians were celebrating Silvio Berlusconi’s resignation as prime minister. But such has been his domination of Italian public life for the best part of two decades that their celebrations will be muted by apprehension they have not seen the end of him.