“Expectations disappointed”. Thus Jens Weidmann, in a speech at the Bundesbank in Hamburg, described “the expectations of those who had bet that the consolidation efforts undertaken by Italy before entering the monetary union would also continue in the common currency area and that the solidity of public finances would have been ensured in the long term".
"That was not the case - continued the governor of the German Central Bank - with the economic crisis of the early 2000s, Italian budget deficits started to rise again and remained above the 3% threshold for a long time" .
Furthermore, “since then, a primary surplus has not been recorded that would allow for a continuous reduction in debt. Indeed, due to the financial, economic and sovereign debt crisis, the debt/GDP ratio in the country has even clearly exceeded the threshold of 130%, where it has been for years now".
Greeting a Bundesbank official, Arno Baecker, who for four years was a representative of the central bank and financial adviser to the German Embassy in Rome, Weidmann added: “Looking at Italy's economic situation and the waning of reform efforts, you wondered in a 2000 Embassy report, whether the pace of reforms in the country would be sufficient to regain the lost ground in international competitiveness and to face the economic challenges of the future. The fact that we still discuss Italy's low growth dynamics today is the answer to your question ”.
