In the 2006 Italian election campaign, then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi popularised a widely held view about the negative role of the euro for the Italian economy. This view had initially originated with the secessionist Northern Leagues. More recently, it had come to reflect the view of more moderate political players too. In the campaign Berlusconi ridiculed his contender, and the ultimate victor of the elections, Romano Prodi, for having accepted the to the euro in 1998. These claims reflect an ongoing debate about whether the adoption of the euro caused or even significantly contributed to Italy s financial crisis in 1992. These latter events ultimately forced Italy to temporarily leave the European Monetary System (EMS). The country re-entered the EMS in 1998. We conclude that Italy s weaknesses became more obvious with the adherence to conditions required for euro entry, but that its deep-seated political and economic problems were entrenched.
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Article provided by Cambridge University Press in its journal European Review.
Volume (Year): 16 (2008) Issue (Month): 01 (February) Pages: 5-22 Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML
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