Enrico Letta admits Italy has 'social fatigue'
Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta admitted on Monday his country was suffering from "social fatigue" but said his government had brought "a stability dividend" worth billions of euros due to lower borrowing costs.
"We have to respond to social fatigue," he said at an end-of-year press conference, as the country tries to recover from its longest recession since World War II.
"The shock of these years has been very tough. It is hard to recover even after figures improve," he said.
But Letta said that political stability meant Italy was now paying less in interest on its debt from before.
The forecast for borrowing costs for 2013 had been €89 billion but the estimate now is €83 billion.
"The stability dividend has been €5.5 billion," he said, adding that this would be used to lower taxes.
The figure is still higher than the €70 billion paid in 2010, €71 billion in 2011 and €78 billion in 2012.
Letta, 47, also hailed a "generational changeover" in Italian politics this year which he said was unprecedented since the post-war period.
"The country before was run by generations of 60 and 70-year-olds," he said, after the rise of a crop of younger centre-left and centre-right leaders.
SEE ALSO: Italy adopts 2014 budget to tackle social crisis
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"We have to respond to social fatigue," he said at an end-of-year press conference, as the country tries to recover from its longest recession since World War II.
"The shock of these years has been very tough. It is hard to recover even after figures improve," he said.
But Letta said that political stability meant Italy was now paying less in interest on its debt from before.
The forecast for borrowing costs for 2013 had been €89 billion but the estimate now is €83 billion.
"The stability dividend has been €5.5 billion," he said, adding that this would be used to lower taxes.
The figure is still higher than the €70 billion paid in 2010, €71 billion in 2011 and €78 billion in 2012.
Letta, 47, also hailed a "generational changeover" in Italian politics this year which he said was unprecedented since the post-war period.
"The country before was run by generations of 60 and 70-year-olds," he said, after the rise of a crop of younger centre-left and centre-right leaders.
SEE ALSO: Italy adopts 2014 budget to tackle social crisis
Don't miss a story about Italy - Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
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