Now the Five Star Party has secured the mayor-ship of Rome, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi probably understands what Benito Mussolini meant when he stated: “Governing the Italians is not impossible, it is merely useless”. Attempts at reformation by Renzi have not yielded the hoped-for results.
Italy’s economy has shrunk by around 10 per cent since 2007, as the country endured a triple-dip recession. Output has regressed to levels of over a decade ago. Overall unemployment is around 12-13 per cent, with youth unemployment around 40 per cent. Consumption and investment are flaccid.
The damage is long term, with as much as 15 per cent of Italian industrial capacity destroyed, reducing employment and growth potential. Once its strength, Italy’s smaller enterprises have contracted as a result of low sales, declining profitability and lack of financing.
Italy has a current account surplus of 1.9 per cent, reversing a number of years of deficits. The change reflects the deterioration of the Italian economy rather than a change in its trading position.
Banking system problems have exacerbated the contraction. Italian banks are hamstrung by around €150-200 billion of bad or doubtful loans, which has exposed inadequate capital and reserves. Unlike counterparts in the UK and US, Italian banks have been unwilling or unable to tackle the asset quality problem. The most recent exercise (with a glorious title based on the Atlas) was underfunded and ill-conceived and did little more than support a few weaker banks at the expense of more solid enterprises.