"Currently economic growth, more than the performance of the public finances, is the main risk" for Italy's creditworthiness. Standard and Poor's writes it in a report dedicated to the euro area.
According to the agency "there is a risk that after the February 25 elections there may be a loss of momentum on the important structural reforms needed to improve the growth prospects" of the peninsula. Prospects that, despite the reforms of the Monti government, "remain limited by the rigidity of the labor market, by a heavily protected service sector and by the high tax burden that falls on labor and businesses". S&P also underlines that "Italy's history of weak and fragmented government coalitions helps explain its high public debt", equal to 127% of GDP at the end of 2012.
