http://standpointmag.co.uk/taxonomy/term/61 The taxonomy view with a depth of 0. en http://standpointmag.co.uk/counterpoints-january-february-12-italian-insouciance-alexander-chancellor-elsa-fornero-welfare-state <p><b>Author:</b>Alexander Chancellor</p><p style="text-align: justify">Italy's new Welfare Minister, Elsa Fornero, broke down in tears when announcing a squeeze on state pensions this month, but she was weeping too soon. For while the latest package of austerity measures will undoubtedly hit Italians hard in due course, there is scant sign yet that they are suffering unduly. Foreigners note with surprise how prosperous and well-dressed most Italians still look, and Silvio Berlusconi was not wrong when he pointed out that the restaurants were still full (&quot;Italia in crisi? I ristoranti sono pieni!&quot;). London is full of free-spending Italian tourists. After a decade of recurrent recessions and with the heaviest burden of government debt of any European Union country apart from Greece, how do the Italians manage to appear so unconcerned?</p><p><a href="http://standpointmag.co.uk/counterpoints-january-february-12-italian-insouciance-alexander-chancellor-elsa-fornero-welfare-state"><span>read more</span></a></p> http://standpointmag.co.uk/counterpoints-january-february-12-italian-insouciance-alexander-chancellor-elsa-fornero-welfare-state#comments Counterpoints Economy Elsa Fornero EU Italy Mario Draghi Silvio Berlusconi Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:45:43 +0000 Frances Weaver 4290 at http://standpointmag.co.uk