Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister, Luigi Di Maio, has publicly backed President Donald Trump’s economic policies. He has also warned the EU against ‘failed’ austerity theories.
Mr. Di Maio, leader of Italy’s coalition party Five Star Movement, praised President Trump’s tax cuts and spending saying Europe will follow over the next ten years:
“The US economy is growing at four per cent with the expansive policies of Trump, which everyone said were wrong. He is expanding the deficit, lowering taxation and investing in infrastructure.
“I believe that over the next 10 years Europe will go in this direction because the United States is moving in this direction.”
The Italian budget has caused disagreement with EU officials who have demanded Italy revise deficit goals. But Mr. Di Maio has defended it telling the Financial Times he believed he could “reduce public debt with an expansive budget”. He even added that if it worked in Italy it will spread across the whole of Europe.
On that note, one of the four Italian banks taking part in today’s European Union bank health check performed better than Britain’s leading lender, Barclays.
The Deputy Prime Minister said: “There is a political class [in Europe]that in recent years has stuck with austerity policies, which certain individual countries have repeatedly broken.
“It is a political class committed to all this failed economic theory and they know it too but they can’t allow anyone to violate it because they’ve somehow supported it for 10, 20 years, for the whole period of the crisis.”
Spanish President Pedro Sanchez said:
“Spain needs Italy to face many challenges together… and the rest of Europe also needs them to reinforce and reform the EU. Italy should not remain on the sidelines, especially in view of Brexit.”