Italy’s Top Euroskeptic Could Just Be Its Next Europe Minister
Italy’s Top Euroskeptic Could Just Be Its Next Europe Minister
(Bloomberg) --
Italy’s populists could have a nasty surprise in store for Brussels with a well-known euroskeptic touted as the country’s next minister for European affairs.
Alberto Bagnai, a lawmaker from Matteo Salvini’s League party who heads the Italian Senate finance committee, may be next in line for the post, daily la Repubblica reported Tuesday. A spokesman for Bagnai wasn’t immediately available to comment.
Bagnai, who also serves as an adviser to League leader Matteo Salvini, has written two books calling for the end of Europe’s monetary union. He was elected with the League in Italy’s national ballot last year.
The European affairs portfolio is currently held by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on an interim basis after Paolo Savona, another euroskeptic economist, resigned to take the top job at market regulator Consob. Conte’s cabinet is due to meet Tuesday.
The ministry handles networking at national level on the EU lawmaking process and oversees incorporation of EU rules into the Italian legislation system, as well coordinating on single market-related issues.
In a June 3 interview with Bloomberg, Bagnai sought to reassure financial markets about his party’s position on the single currency. The League would remain committed to the euro and the European Union even in a future government without its current coalition partner, the Five Star Movement, he said.
Any talk of “Italexit is much ado about nothing,”said Bagnai, a professor of economics at Gabriele d’Annunzio University in Pescara. The tortuous Brexit process shows how difficult quitting the EU would be, the lawmaker said at the time.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lorenzo Totaro in Rome at ltotaro@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Jerrold Colten, Alessandro Speciale
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