The EU has another crisis on its hands after Italian politician Gianluigi Paragone, a former senator for the anti-establishment 5Star Movement, said it was time for Italy to launch its Italexit campaign ‘ No Europe for Italy’ on Thursday, July 23. He said Italy would no longer be “blackmailed” by the Brussels bloc.
He said: “This is the way forward: we can no longer be blackmailed by tax havens that allow themselves to offend the great prestige of Italy.
“For this reason, on July 23, at 10 am, in the press room of the Chamber of Deputies, I will officially launch my party for Italexit, presenting the name and logo.”
Mr Paragone is hoping to capitalise on anti-EU sentiment in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The politician has announced the launch of a single-issue party, much like the Brexit Party, to push for Italy’s departure from the EU.
He is hoping to force a new debate over a potential “Italexit”, as anti-EU sentiment starts to build in the country.
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Many Italians felt abandoned by the bloc during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, as the country soon became Europe’s epicentre and was ravaged by the killer virus.
He also revealed he has met with Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage to discuss Brexit and get advice on unshackling his own nation from the “EU cage”.
READ MORE: Italexit: Campaign to rip Italy from EU kick-started with petition
It comes after Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte warned that the EU’s very existence would be under threat if countries could not pull together to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
He told the Financial Times newspaper that monetary policies alone would not resolve the issue.
Mr Conte said: “Monetary policy alone cannot solve all problems; we need to do the same on the fiscal front.
“The route to follow is to open ESM (European Stability Mechanism) credit lines to all member states to help them fight the consequences of the COVID-19 epidemic.”
Meanwhile, a poll in April found 49 percent of the 1,000 Italians polled are in favour of leaving the EU, according to a poll by the Tecne Institute.
That was 20 percent more “Italiexit” supporters than a year and a half ago when the question was last put to the public.
The survey was conducted on April 9 and 10 – shortly before the agreement on aid payments.
Additional reporting by Maria Ortega