courtesy: caterpillaram.rai
Just a few days after an odd pronouncement from a noted financial investment firm calling the re-election of the disgraced premier a 'good thing', now comes a rebuttal from the largest EU economy.
A top German politician has thrown his dire warning into the chaotic mix of political advice just days before a crucial election in Italy.
The German Finance minister, W. Schauble, said to L'Espresso days ago that voting for the aging politician was akin to a big mistake.
Immediately a spokesman of the Finance Ministry denied such expostulation ever occurred, but a few days later, two more German officials are piping in with their warning, compounding the already serious admonition of their predecessors.
The warning comes following Berlusconi's defiance of the austerity program in place at the moment, which Germans see as crucial to regaining some financial soundness. They in fact, see the seven time candidate as a figure of the past, unwilling to adopt the changes needed at this critical juncture. What Italy needs, they say, is a leader who can plan for the future.
The warnings come after Berlusconi's campaign gained significant steam in the past weeks, making him a possible victor in Sunday's election.
This is in net contrast with the spokesman of Mediobanca, who pronounced himself as being convinced that a Berlusconi election would cause a market frenzy and the subsequent application for a bailout, a statement reported in several financial news outlet. In fact, the representative of Mediobanca even went so far as to say that the Berlusconi victory represented the 'best case', because it would 'offer Italy the perfect excuse for what many see as the only way out", i.e. a request for a bailout.
Germany however, could do without the upheaval projected by the Mediobanca spokesman. They see Italy, and consequently the election results, as holding the key to surmounting the European financial distress.
That, the Germans contend is due to Berlusconi's lack of credibility.
source: Spiegel online/2.19.13
Bloomberg news 2.16.13
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