Utopia Talk / Politics / EU-backed coup underway in Italy

Rugian Member	Tue May 29 19:30:21 TL;DR: Italy's president makes a rare move by vetoing the appointment of a eurosceptic finance minister, triggering the collapse of what would have been the country's first-ever populist government, then appoints a europhile ex-IMF director to serve as prime minister instead. Former investment banker and current democracy-hater Emmanuel Macron promptly slobbers over the president's cock for doing his part to maintain the status quo, while another EU official smugly instructs Italian voters not to vote for populists next time. Another fine example of European managed democracy at work here. Merkel, Macron, Juncker and Tusk should all be hanged from a Milanese gas station (I'm assuming the president only acted as he did after Juncker gave him a call to remind him of his "instruments of torture"). ---- European capitals watch nervously as Italy's populist parties call mass street protests Temporary Italian government to be led by IMF’s Carlo Cottarelli as markets fall Tue, May 29, 2018, 01:00 Patrick Smyth Brussels European capitals watched nervously on Monday and markets tumbled as Carlo Cottarelli stepped forward to head a temporary new Italian government. The former International Monetary Fund (IMF) official is unlikely to win parliamentary approval for a new administration, however, and new elections within months are now certain. Italy has been in political crisis since the weekend when the country’s 75-year-old president, Sergio Mattarella, refused to accept the nomination of Paolo Savona, a Eurosceptic, for the role of finance minister. The octogenarian Mr Savona was the choice of the two parties – the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the far-right League – which had agreed a deal to govern Italy in coalition after an election in March that resulted in a hung parliament. In spite of Mr Cottarelli’s appointment, the crisis was far from over on Monday night. The spurned populist parties have called mass street protests, and Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio said Mr Mattarella was responsible for “the darkest night Italy’s democracy has ever seen”. He called for the president’s impeachment. Macron’s praise Mr Mattarella, however, won unusual praise from France’s president, Emmanuel Macron. “I simply want to express my regards and support to President Mattarella, who has an essential task, that of his country’s institutional and democratic stability, which he is doing with much courage and a great spirit of responsibility,” Mr Macron said. The rare intervention by a head of state in the internal affairs of another EU member state was a real measure of the relief felt throughout the union at the exercise by Mr Mattarella of his constitutional prerogative to vet cabinet nominees. His refusal to accept the appointment of Mr Savona resulted in the inevitable resignation of the coalition’s nominee for prime minister, Guiseppe Conte. Matteo Salvini, the leader of the League, said the appointment of Mr Cottarelli was the death throe of a political establishment intent on keeping Italy “enslaved”. “The next elections will be a plebiscite – the population and real life against old political castes and the ‘lords of the spread’,” he said. It is also likely the next election will be seen as a referendum on pulling Italy out of the euro. Euro exit Mr Mattarella defended his rejection of Mr Savona, who he said was determined to pull Italy out of the currency it had created. Five Star and the League had not sought an election mandate for such a move. “The uncertainty over our position has alarmed investors and savers both in Italy and abroad,” the president said. “Membership of the euro is a fundamental choice. If we want to discuss it, then we should do so in a serious fashion.” Five Star and the League won 33 per cent and 17 per cent of votes respectively in the March election. Many observers worry that they will increase their combined majority in a new election. The markets were not reassured by the president’s move. The yield on Italian two-year debt saw its biggest daily move since the height of the euro zone crisis in mid-2012, up 50 basis points on the day. And equities were hit hard, led by bank stocks. In mid-afternoon trading in Milan, Italy’s main equities barometer was down 2.5 per cent. http://www...mass-street-protests-1.3511825
Aeros Member	Tue May 29 19:39:10 What a breathtakingly stupid move.
Paramount Member	Wed May 30 01:20:53 One of the tasks of the president is to approve and not approve of proposed ministers. It is a duty of the president to do that. But yeah, let us call it a coup!
yankeessuck123 Member	Wed May 30 02:20:08 I mean, the president has the authority to do this. It's a check/balance baked into the system. Questionable move though.
Seb Member	Wed May 30 05:50:48 It's constitutional, but potentially politically dumb.
Daemon Member	Wed May 30 06:20:41 They wanted to work less but spend more money. Sure we complain. Italian debt shrunk from 2000-2007 from 105% to 99% of GDP. It was the financial crisis in 2008 that made the debt go to 130%. Fuck the USA.
Seb Member	Wed May 30 09:47:13 Daemon: I think you'll find they want to work more. Their spending plans are focused on increasing aggregate demand. It's Germany's crazy ordoliberalism that is suggesting people should spend and work less, and therefore way and live less too.
Seb Member	Wed May 30 09:50:07 What made debt go to 130% was the transfer of private sector losses to the public sector. That was largely done because big European banks - particularly German and French ones, had lent recklessly. The fact the US banks went down first forcing investors to subject banks lending to closer scrutiny does not make this an American problem. If European banks were squeaky clean, there would have been no losses in European banks.
Seb Member	Fri Jun 01 02:30:40 Daemon: Fun fact, Italy has chalked up more years since the 90s with a primary surplus than Germany has. Italy's problem is legacy debt. Write off would be the best solution, not austerity.
Dukhat Member	Fri Jun 01 04:26:42 Rugian has no idea about anything outside the us other than the fact he hates terrorists. But there are times when breitbart tells him what to think and suddenly he gives 2 shits about Italy. Fucking reactionary retard.
Paramount Member	Fri Jun 01 05:34:15 Italy’s problem is corruption and its mafia.
Seb Member	Fri Jun 01 06:07:13 Paramount: If that's the case, why are they running primary surplusses? Italy's problem is it's high debt, and high interest rates of the Euro. This means it cannot devalue, it cannot inflate, and even though it is running a primary surplus, it simply cannot service the historic debt. Lazy national stereotypes may salve the conscience of those that are pushing unsustainable economic policies across the Euro zone, but as I said waaay back in 2009: The financial crisis revealed a major defect in the Eurozones monetary and economic policies. The monetary and economic crisis, if unaddressed will become a political crisis. And indeed we have seen that: Deflationary policies have driven huge internal migrations, deflation and depression that has done long term damage to a number of economies; often imposed through illegitimate and undemocratic means on populations - which have contributed to Brexit and the rise of populist challengers across the Eurozone. The path is unsustainable in the long run - unless there is substantial change (along the lines of Macron's proposals) the Euro zone runs the risk of ultimately failing and taking the EU down with it, and democracy in the countries most affected.
Daemon Member	Fri Jun 01 06:19:28 Seb is always fast to blame Germany for everything: http://wol...orribly-exposed-italian-banks/ May 27, 2018 ... A recent study by the Bank for International Settlements shows Italian government debt represents nearly 20% of Italian banks’ assets — one of the highest levels in the world. In total there are ten banks with Italian sovereign-debt holdings that represent over 100% of their tier-1 capital (which is used to measure bank solvency), according to research by Eric Dor, the director of Economic Studies at IESEG School of Management. ... But it’s not just Italian banks that are heavily exposed to Italian debt. So, too, are French lenders, which last year had combined holdings of Italian bonds worth €44 billion, according to data from the European Banking Authority’s 2017 transparency exercise. Spanish banks had €29 billion. Which three non-Italian lenders of consequence are most exposed, in absolute terms, to Italian debt, based on Dor’s research? BNP Paribas, France’s largest bank, with €16 billion of Italian sovereign debt holdings. Dexia, the French-Belgian lender that collapsed twice and was bailed out twice between 2008 and 2011. It holds €15 billion of Italian debt. And, drum-roll please: Banco Sabadell, the mid-sized Spanish lender that already has a gargantuan self-inflicted IT crisis on its hands at its UK subsidiary TSB. It has €10.5 billion invested in Italian bonds — the equivalent of almost 40% of its entire fixed asset portfolio, worth €26.3 billion, and 110% of its tier-1 capital. ...
Seb Member	Fri Jun 01 07:26:54 Daemon: Germany was the principle state insisting on keeping interest rates high after the crisis. It was the principle voice pushing deflationary austerity policies. And it was the main force between requiring countries to nationalise private debt.
Paramount Member	Fri Jun 01 07:41:42 Seb, "Italy's problem is it's high debt, and high interest rates of the Euro." That is also the problem of course.
	show deleted posts

Your Name:
Your Password:
Your Message: