Italy Government Approved: Crisis Over? Hardly! Get Popcorn, Gold

The Financial Times reports Italy’s President Approves Populist Rome Government.

The FT's subtitle is quite amusing. "Accord all but ends political crisis that has gripped country and spooked investors."

What the hell is the FT smoking?

Juncker Foot In Mouth Disease

Politico reports Juncker Prompts Italian Ire with ‘More Work’ Jibe.

The European Parliament’s Italian president demanded on Thursday that Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker deny or retract remarks that Italians should do “more work.”

“Italians have to take care of the poor regions of Italy. That means more work; less corruption; seriousness,” Juncker was quoted as saying by The Guardian newspaper, among others, at a question-and-answer session in Brussels.

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani shot back on Twitter that Juncker distance himself from the comments.

“I ask European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to immediately deny the comments attributed to him, because if they are true they would be unacceptable,” tweeted Tajani.

Juncker’s tweet did prompt a storm of Twitter responses, some of which blamed the offending remarks on alcohol or ignorance of Italian affairs.

Commission spokesperson Mina Andreeva later tweeted that “The words attributed to President Juncker on Italy were taken out of context.”

Finalized Deal

• Giuseppe Conte is back in the role as Prime Minister. He previously gave up a mandate to form a government last weekend when president Sergio Mattarella refused to seat Eurosceptic 81-year-old Paolo Savona as economy minister.
• Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio will have a combined role of Deputy Prime minister and Work and Development Secretary.
• Lega leader Matteo Salvini will have a combined role of Deputy Prime minister and interior minister in charge of immigration.
• Paolo Savona will become European affairs minister.
• Giovanni Tria, a professor of political economy at Tor Vergata University in Rome, will be the new finance minister
• Enzo Moavero Milanesi, an aide to former prime minister Mario Monti, will be the new foreign minister.

Get Popcorn and Gold

Enjoy the forthcoming amusement. Budget battles with the EU rate to be spectacular.

Be sure to have enough popcorn on hand. I also recommend some gold when Europe eventually blows sky high over Italy.