ItalExit coming., page-21

Germany's exports remain attractive because Italy and Greece ensure the Euro doesn't get too strong. As Loaded Dog says, if Italy hadn't locked in to the Euro they wouldn't be in so much trouble. So any lectures by Germany on being more financially responsible are a little hard to take.

And when they were deep in trouble with the pandemic, Italy was betrayed by its fellow Europeans.

On 26 February, with the numbers of Italians known to be infected by coronavirus tripling every 48 hours, Italy's PM Giuseppe Conte appealed to fellow EU member states for help. Italian doctors and nurses had run out of the masks, gloves and aprons they needed to keep themselves safe, and had an acute lack of ventilators.

The specifications of Italy’s needs were uploaded into the EU’s Common Emergency Communication and Information System (CECIS). Italy has responded many times to calls for help through CECIS, such as with bushfires in Sweden.

But when Italy was in terrible strife, not a single European country responded. Total silence. It was a disgrace. And Italians will never forget it.