ROME (Reuters) - Italy should consider leaving the single currency and
reintroducing the lira, Welfare Minister Roberto Maroni said in a newspaper
interview on Friday.
Maroni, a member of the euro-skeptical Northern League party, told the
Repubblica daily Italy should hold a referendum to decide whether to return to
the lira, at least temporarily.
He also said European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet was one of
those chiefly responsible for the "disaster of the euro."
The euro "has proved inadequate in the face of the economic slowdown, the
loss of competitiveness and the job crisis," Maroni said.
In this situation, the answer is to give the government greater power to
defend national industry from foreign competition and "to give control over
the exchange rate back to the government."
Maroni is a front-line government minister but his views are not believed
to be shared by those with far greater sway over economic policy, such as
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi or Economy Minister Domenico Siniscalco.
Maroni cited Britain as a virtuous example of a country whose economy
"grows and develops, maintaining control over its currency."
When it was put to Maroni that Trichet on Thursday dismissed the idea that
monetary union could break up, the minister replied: "Sure, he is one of those
chiefly responsible for the disaster of the euro."
He added Trichet should try to convince hard-pressed small Italian
businessmen that the euro was a success.
Maroni also dismissed the idea that Italy's struggling economy could face
an Argentina-style financial disaster if it abandoned the single currency.
"We're already heading toward Argentina, that's why we have to change
direction," he said.
Three years ago Argentina defaulted on its public debt.
