Posted on 06/15/2005 1:08:37 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
THE WASHINGTON TIMES June 15, 2005
ROME -- 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?" Italian discontent with the euro marks the latest crisis to rattle the quest for European unity. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac have been locked in a bitter public feud ahead of European budget summit this week and the Continent is reeling from the rejection of a proposed constitution by French and Dutch voters. A chain of Tuscan supermarkets has been enjoying a surge in business after pledging to accept the lira alongside the euro, cashing in on Italians who blame the single currency for rising prices and a slumping economy. Polls show that as many as 27 percent of Italians are ready to dump the common European currency. Italy's minister of economy and finance, Domenico Siniscalco, has bluntly rejected the suggestions. Mr. Siniscalco insists that "Italy's currency is the euro," but Mr. Berlusconi's Forza Italia party also contains a euro-sceptic wing inspired by counterparts in Britain's Conservative party suspicious of ceding sovereignty in Brussels. The "post-Fascist" National Alliance party founded by former admirers of the wartime nationalist dictator, Benito Mussolini, also has traditionally been wary of European integration.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
More than 70% are either pro or indifference?
Eurotrash trashing euro?
Good. Good for their national sovereignty and bad for the corrupt European Constution which doesn't even respect the basic rights laid out in the Magna Carta, much less our Bill of Rights and Constitution. The corrupt euro governments have been trying to shove the euro constitution down the throats of the european people and it's backfiring. If some of you Freepers could stop the programmed eurobashing for a minute, you'd see what's going on over there.
Its more of trash talk than anything else. They all (all the EU states) have gone too far into this to retreat now. It would tear up the economic fabric of the whole of Europe to dump it now. The dollar would soar, to levels unacceptable to the Bush adminstration. The Italians are upset of the weak dollar...its really made the price of their goods too expensive to sell in the US and unless you are aiming at the weathlier types. Most shoes are now manufactured in the Pacific or China...in 1970, Italy was one of the top shoe sellers in the US...and this really tells a major part of the whole story.
Ouch! Harsh but fair :0)
I think it's a good idea. It's kind of neat to be a "millionaire" in Italy with just a handfull of bills.
If they do change back to the lira, it'll certainly make it easier on crossword puzzles. :>
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