Ghosts of 2011 sovereign debt crisis remain fresh for the EU, says ISLA panellist
19 June 2018 Lisbon
Image: Shutterstock
The “ghosts” of the 2011 sovereign debt crisis are “back in the heads of the people in Brussels”, according to Bertrand Huet, senior vice president, partner, and co-head of Financial Services at FleishmanHillard.
In a session at the International Securities Lending Association (ISLA) 27th Annual Securities Finance and Collateral Management Conference, Huet said that this fear was a result of the market reaction to recent elections in Italy earlier this year and contagion concerns.
The elections were held on 4 March 2018 after Italy’s parliament was dissolved by ex-president Sergio Mattarella in December 2017 and resulted in the League, a centre-right coalition led by Matteo Salvini, coming into power.
Under Salvini, the party has, to some extent, embraced Italian nationalism and emphasised Euroscepticism and opposition to immigration.
The party has historically advocated the transformation of Italy into a federal state, fiscal federalism and greater regional autonomy, especially for Northern regions.
Huet said that the Italian elections are a “reminder” that populism in Europe didn’t end with French president Emmanuel Macron’s defeat of Marine Le Pen last year.
Huet noted that Europe “still has another nine elections in the next year and a half”.
“Forget Brexit, what’s most concerning for the EU leadership is that the Italian government is showing an intention, perhaps not to leave the euro, but certainly to divide Europe, as can be seen from the migration.”
In a session at the International Securities Lending Association (ISLA) 27th Annual Securities Finance and Collateral Management Conference, Huet said that this fear was a result of the market reaction to recent elections in Italy earlier this year and contagion concerns.
The elections were held on 4 March 2018 after Italy’s parliament was dissolved by ex-president Sergio Mattarella in December 2017 and resulted in the League, a centre-right coalition led by Matteo Salvini, coming into power.
Under Salvini, the party has, to some extent, embraced Italian nationalism and emphasised Euroscepticism and opposition to immigration.
The party has historically advocated the transformation of Italy into a federal state, fiscal federalism and greater regional autonomy, especially for Northern regions.
Huet said that the Italian elections are a “reminder” that populism in Europe didn’t end with French president Emmanuel Macron’s defeat of Marine Le Pen last year.
Huet noted that Europe “still has another nine elections in the next year and a half”.
“Forget Brexit, what’s most concerning for the EU leadership is that the Italian government is showing an intention, perhaps not to leave the euro, but certainly to divide Europe, as can be seen from the migration.”
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