ROME/WASHINGTON, 26 September 2005 — Italy’s government stripped Central Bank Governor Antonio Fazio of his authority to represent the country at a World Bank meeting yesterday, piling pressure on him to resign over a takeover scandal. Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti, a longstanding adversary of Fazio, told the central banker in a tense phone call on Saturday that he would not lead Italy’s delegation to the World Bank development committee meeting, Italian officials said. “Mr. Tremonti relieved him of his duties,” an Italian official in Washington said. A second official in Rome confirmed Tremonti had revoked Fazio’s authority. Fazio abruptly flew back to Rome on a private plane a day early, underscoring increasingly tense relations between the central banker and the government, which cannot fire him but has called for him to step down over a takeover scandal.