Last month I had written some posts about the European Union and the Euro, in response to some Eurosceptic triumphalism over the outcomes over the French and Dutch referendums, for both electorates decided against ratifying the proposed European constitution. I took a break from blogging since then , but in the meantime I left two comments at Kim du Toit’s blog when he blogged about this article at the Washington Times. The comments are no longer available at Kim’s archived posts, but I had saved both of them on my hard disk. After the quote from the Washington Times is my first one in a somewhat edited form, the second one isn’t relevant as far as the article is concerned.
Italians, once among the most enthusiastic supporters of a united Europe, are becoming increasingly disillusioned, so much so that some are suggesting that Italy dump the euro and bring back the lira.
Roberto Castelli, the silver-haired Italian justice minister from the Northern League, a major coalition partner in the government of Silvio Berlusconi, said his party will present concrete proposals this week for calling a referendum on ditching the euro.
“Does [the British pound] sterling have no economic foundation because it is outside the euro?” he asked. “Is Denmark living in absolute poverty because it is outside the euro? Are Swedes poor because they are outside the euro?”
…
Nevertheless, government economists say privately Italy could gain short-term economic benefits from leaving the euro.
By devaluing its currency, Italy could immediately boost exports, jobs and manufacturing investment. The real value of Italy’s massive public debt, equivalent to some 105 percent of gross domestic product, could be slashed by devaluation.
Kim thought that this would be a good thing, but I respectfully disagreed:
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