, Columnist
Italy’s Nightmare Has No End In Sight
Unless the populists campaign on exiting the euro, a new election will change nothing.
The euro zone’s bad dream.
Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella faced an impossible choice when vetoing Paolo Savona, a leading euroskeptic economist, as Italy’s finance minister.
Savona’s selection risked causing a self-fulfilling crisis, which would have pushed Italy out of the euro by stealth. Yet even the presidential veto, and subsequent decision to appoint a technocratic government, haven’t been enough to reassure investors. Only a promise from all parties that they will never leave the currency union would reverse the sharp selloff in Italian bonds. That’s unlikely to happen.