Berlusconi allies fire barbs at Monti, ending Christmas truce

ROME (REUTERS) - Italian politicians resumed their bickering on Wednesday, with supporters of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi taking aim at his successor Mario Monti despite a Christmas call from the Pope for political peace.

Just before midnight at the end of Christmas Day, Monti tweeted: "Together, we saved Italy from disaster. Now we have to renew politics. Complaining won't help anything. Rolling up sleeves will. Let's rise to politics!"

That irked centre-right supporters of Berlusconi, who resigned last year to let Monti take over and is now scrapping with centre-left and pro-Monti centrist blocs ahead of elections due on Feb. 24.

"Monti did not save Italy, he merely reaped the merits of four year of work by Berlusconi", said Gianfranco Rotondi, a parliamentarian from Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party.