All's not well in the EU paradise.
"Wopke Hoekstra, the Dutch Finance Minister, sparked a major row after reportedly calling for an audit into why some countries did not have enough fiscal room to cope with the economic impact of the crisis.
The Dutch and German preference is that, if further action is required, the eurozone’s bailout fund – the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) – should be the vehicle.
The problem with this, from an Italian point of view, is that an ESM programme carries the stigma of asking for a bailout and usually has strings attached, such as external budgetary oversight.
This is political dynamite in Rome. After Coronabonds were rejected at last week’s EU meeting, Italian opposition leader Matteo Salvini, whose Lega party tops opinion polls, tweeted, “A far cry from being a ‘union’, this is a den of snakes and jackals.” Italy may have to say “goodbye” to the EU, he suggested. A fudge may well be found in the coming days that can calm things down for now, but the fundamental structural and political challenges facing the Eurozone have been exposed once again."
