(forthcoming on Voxeu.org) Many observers of the European Sovereign debt saga had long realized that the ECB was the only European institution up to the task of avoiding a breakup of the Euro, as all newly forged institutions, the ESFS/ESM, were at the same time ill designed and inadequately funded. However, by indulging in sharp […]
sovereign default
Berlusconi and Credibility (Vox Update)
Finally, Berlusconi’s time seems to be over. A slow but seemingly unstoppable landslide of rightwing MPs to the centre-left opposition is making very likely that next Tuesday the government will lose its majority in a crucial Parliamentary vote on the Stability Law. The Prime Minister may even resign before the vote. Not just for avoiding […]
Italy’s Looming Political Crisis: Dancing Under the (Debt) Volcano
I have argued recently ( here) that the victory of the Berlusconi’s coalition in the March regional elections was a “Pyrrhus” victory. Mr Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party (PdL) lost votes to its main ally, the Northern League, and weakened considerably in the productive North. It did well in the South, however, where the League […]
Euro, Au Revoir?
Se il “caso Grecia” contagiasse gli altri paesi europei ad alto debito (pubblico ed estero) e bassa competitività, i GIPSI (Grecia, Irlanda, Portogallo, Spagna, Italia), verrebbe messa in discussione la stabilità dell’euro e la coesione dell’Eurozona. E’ fondato questo timore? Ci sarà un effetto domino, come nella crisi europea del 1992, ma questa volta con […]
Italia e Grecia: una faccia, una razza?
Uno spettro si aggira per l’Europa, proveniente da Dubai: l’insolvenza del debito sovrano. Usciti carichi di debiti e con le finanze dissestate dalla recessione internazionale, molti paesi europei, Grecia, Irlanda, Spagna, paesi Baltici, fino ai Balcani, sono oggi considerati a rischio dalle agenzie di rating e dai mercati. I timori si concentrano soprattutto sulla Grecia, […]