Economics
Populist Coalition Agrees on 2.4 Percent Deficit: Italy Update
Italy’s government is due to decide on targets for the 2019 budget deficit, debt level and growth by midnight Thursday, but negotiations have been hit by a last-minute demand for extra spending by the coalition’s two deputy prime ministers.
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Italy’s coalition government agreed on a 2019 deficit at 2.4 percent of GDP during a late night cabinet meeting in Rome.
The final hours of negotiations have been tense after the government’s two political heavyweights, League leader Matteo Salvini and Luigi Di Maio of the Five Star Movement, demanded a budget deficit target of 2.4 percent to finance their election pledges while Finance Minister Giovanni Tria tried to keep the shortfall to 2 percent.