Premier Giuseppe Conte said Friday
that using the European Stability Mechanism to fund Italy's
response to the economic earthquake caused by the coronavirus
emergency was not his objective.
He noted that the ESM process meant taking out loans and this
was not in Italy's interest, event at a very low interest rate.
The real "historical turning point", he said, was the
Franco-German proposal for a 500 billion euro recovery fund
using non-repayable grants.
Italy has said it will back the proposal to the hilt, while
hoping for even more money, while northern European countries
have said the fund should be in loans and not grants.
Conte added that the support of former premier Matteo Renzi's
centrist Italia Viva (IV) party, a fractious government ally,
was "important".
IV this week threatened to vote for opposition motions of no
confidence in Justice Minister Alfonso Bonafede, a move that
would have caused a government crisis, but withdrew the threat
at the last minute, in the latest of a string of rows with its
partners.
Conte said that now the government "will accept IV's
proposals on infrastructure and the family act, issues that are
dear to our heart."
He said former centre-left Democratic Party (PD) leader
Renzi's last minute backing for Bonafede and the government had
been "an important decision".
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