Could Italy Bring Down the Euro?
The rise of the eurosceptic Five Star Movement, now the most popular political party in Italy, has potentially far-reaching implications for the European Union.
Could Italy Bring Down the Euro?
Soeren Kern | Gatestone Institute | July 14, 2016
The eurosceptic Five Star Movement (M5S) has overtaken Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s Democratic Party (PD) in several opinion polls and is now the most popular political party in Italy.
The poll results represent a significant shift in Italy’s political landscape and have potentially far-reaching implications for the future of the European Union.
M5S, which would win national elections if they were held today, has called for a referendum on whether Italy, which is facing the collapse of its banking system, should keep the euro, the single currency of the European Union, or bring back the Italian lira.
A move by Italy — the third-largest economy in the eurozone — to abandon the euro could strike a potentially fatal blow to the currency and to the bloc itself.
