A woman begging in the street in Sicily. Regional councillor Andrea Vecchio has warned the island has run out of money
Posted on 07/19/2012 2:38:10 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Italian premier Mario Monti is mulling emergency action to take direct control of Sicily’s regional government before the island spirals into a full-blown financial crisis, fearing contagion to the rest of Italy.
A woman begging in the street in Sicily. Regional councillor Andrea Vecchio has warned the island has run out of money
Mr Monti held an “urgent” meeting with the country’s president Giorgio Napolitano on Wednesday to grapple with the constitutional issue after it emerged that the region faces a deficit of up to €7bn (£5.49bn) this year and is in danger of default without sweeping cuts.
Sicily’s regional councillor Andrea Vecchio warned that the island has run out of money. “I’m afraid we will soon no longer be able to pay civil servants’ salaries,” he said.
“The developments in Sicily are very serious,” said Prof Giuseppe Ragusa from Luiss University in Rome. “It is just the sort of negative shock we don’t want right now. Everything has to go perfectly for Italy to pull through.”
The full extent of Sicily’s crisis came to light just before Moody’s downgraded a string of Italian regions, cutting many to levels even lower than Sicily. Piedmont, Abruzzo, Calabria, Lazio, and Campania were all slashed. The City of Naples fell to junk status, plagued by “systemic pressure” from a deep social and economic crisis.
“We mustn’t let the disaster in Sicily infect Italy,’’ said Pier Ferdinando Casini from the liberal PDC party, leading a chorus of politicians and business leaders calling for a takeover along the lines of the EU-IMF troika operations in Greece.
This is a highly delicate situation. Sicily has had a special status since the Second World War — reflecting its long tradition of separatist revolt — with control over health care, schools, and regional
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Begging seems to be an acceptable pofession in Italy AND Spain. People dress up as fictional characters, spray paint their bodies with glitter paint and stand perfectly still for hours. All this for coins.
Musicians play on the street or in the Metro also for coins. There are the assorted palm readers and fortune tellers around the major churches, as well as the visibly handicapped.
One of the more unpleasant views in Italy and Spain.
None of this is seen in America. Certainly not on Hollywood Blvd. in front of the Chinese Theater...
Alcibiades ping. Thanks bruinbirdman.
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