Italy Plays Straight Into the Hands of the Dutch
As the EU debates its pandemic rescue fund, Rome is still struggling to come up with a credible economic plan to put Italy back on track.
What’s the plan?
Photographer: TIZIANA FABI/AFPThe European Union’s political leaders will meet next week to negotiate the details of their joint fiscal response to the Covid-19 crisis. The Netherlands has emerged as the main villain opposing the plan, as Prime Minister Mark Rutte demands that countries should implement economic reforms in exchange for any financial help.
Rutte is being too rigid, but supporters of the possible 750 billion-euro ($848 billion) fund aren’t being helped by Italy, which suffered one of the worst outbreaks in Europe. Rome is struggling to come up with a credible plan to put the country back on track. The coalition of the center-left Democratic Party and the populist Five Star Movement is weak and divided, and it only pays lip service to the idea of long-term reforms.