The rightist nationalist
opposition League party of Matteo Salvini wants to leave the
euro and is therefore an enemy of Italy, Economy Minister
Roberto Gualtieri said Thursday.
"It's well known that (House Budget Committee Chair Claudio)
Borghi and the League are for exiting the euro and therefore
they confirm themselves as enemies of Italy's interests, and of
safeguarding savings," he said.
"If we were to do to do what Borghi says the Italians would
lose a lot of money, the value of their wages and their pensions
would be drastically reduced, and therefore Italy would be a
much poorer country, it is a failed recipe which luckily does
not meet with Italians' favour".
Gualtieri was speaking to journalists at the end of an ECOFIN
meeting in Brussels.
Borghi, who has recently toned down his formerly strongly
euroskeptic views, shot back that Gualtieri was allegedly
staging bogus "attacks" on the League in order to "camouflage"
the "umpteenth OK for the European Stability Mechanism (reform),
against the mandate of parliament".
Borghi said "for the thousandth time I recall the League's
official position (against leaving the euro)".
League leader Salvini retorted to Gualtieri that the League
did not want to leave the euro and was nos focusing on stopping
what it calls a damaging reform of the European Stability
Mechanism which will allegedly expose Italian savers to risk.
"No exit from the euro or from Europe, the League only wants
to stop a government that is putting at risk the democracy, the
sovereignty and the savings of Italians," Salvini tweeted.
"On Saturday and Sunday we will be in more than 1,000 Italian
piazzas to inform and collect signatures: #stopESM"
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
