The euro has screwed everybody - Berlusconi

The euro has screwed everybody - Berlusconi

Staff and agencies
Friday July 29, 2005

Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, yesterday said the euro had "screwed everybody" in comments that hinted at his willingness to make political capital out of the currency in the 2006 election campaign.

Speaking to his Forza Italia party, he blamed the country's tricky relationship with the euro on Romano Prodi, the former European Commission president and Italian prime minister who has emerged as his main challenger.

He claimed Italy's economic difficulties, which include inflation, recession and forecasts of zero economic growth, stemmed from Mr Prodi's having put Italy into the monetary union at too high a rate when he was in office, between 1996 and 1998.

"Prodi's euro has screwed everybody," he told the party. "Italians are facing real difficulties."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,12576,1538925,00.html?gusrc=ticker-103704

Maybe the Italian Central Bank crisis doesn't help either...

July 29, 2005

Italian central bank chief faces calls to resign
From Richard Owen in Rome



THE Italian banking sector was in disarray yesterday as Antonio Fazio, governor of the central bank, faced mounting calls for his resignation.

Senior members of the Italian Government were meeting last night to discuss the scandal surrounding Signor Fazio, who has been accused of attempting to block the Dutch takeover of an Italian bank in favour of a local rival’s bid instead.

Consob, Italy’s market regulator, announced that it had suspended Banca Popolare Italiana’s (BPI) bid for Banca Antonveneta because of a “serious lack of transparency”.

In a further twist, ABN Amro, of the Netherlands, which has a minority holding in Banca Antonveneta, took de facto control of the bank after an extraordinary general meeting of Antonveneta’s shareholders elected a 15- member board composed of ABN Amro candidates.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,174-1712641,00.html

flippin cronyism...

but he is right about the euro. It was pretty bad for a lot of european countries. thank god that they will never adopt it here!

big time

Such a solid and proud currency.

Little fucking fascist! FU Berlo Mussolini!

Italy's proflagrant spending and inept tax collection undermined the EURO!


(thanks for making absinthe cheaper, my liver doesn't thank you)