Only Putin’s attack on Ukraine opened Germany’s eyes to how fatal dependence on Russia had become. But now it is the umpteenth government crisis in an EU country that reminds us that our dependence on a very close friend is even greater and more tragic: Germany’s favorite country, Italy.
In these turbulent days, all politicians are talking about reducing dependencies. From Russia. From China. From the other autocratic regimes in any case. But nobody is currently talking about the greatest dependence of the German economy. It starts right on our doorstep – in beautiful Italy.
This dependence does not affect individual product groups and not the energy supply, but the most sacred thing an economy can ever have: its currency. The common currency is more important for the functioning of an economic cycle than the import of gas, nickel and plutonium. That is why Germany’s euro dependency is also the mother of all dependencies.
Since 2002, Germany and Italy have been inextricably linked in the euro. At that time, the soft currency lira was merged into the new European common currency. That means: every political disruption and every economic dubiousness in Naples, Rome or Milan has been sending out subtle vibrations that have made the euro firmer or softer.
We can read the drop in pressure precisely from the external value of the euro against the dollar. Above all, the following six events are causing Italy to permanently damage the value of the euro:
Gabor Steingart is one of the best-known journalists in the country. He publishes the newsletter The Pioneer Briefing. The podcast of the same name is Germany’s leading daily podcast for politics and business. Since May 2020, Steingart has been working with his editorial staff on the ship “The Pioneer One”. Before founding Media Pioneer, Steingart was, among other things, CEO of the Handelsblatt Media Group. You can subscribe to his free newsletter here.
Conclusion: These overwhelming facts do not speak against Italy – but they speak for a different Italy. The country is fatally too big in two ways. Too big to fail. And too big to be saved permanently. Italy should stop lying to itself – knowing that this is no easy task. Or as Mark Twain used to say: “A lie has already walked the earth three times before the truth puts on its shoes. “
