Matteo Renzi’s Italian referendum defeat ‘threatens survival of the euro,’ warn German business leaders

The euro’s survival is under increased threat following the political instability caused by the Italian referendum result, German business bosses warned yesterday, raising further questions about the long-term viability of Italy’s membership of the currency union.
Ulrich Grillo, the head of the Federation of German Industries, or BDI, said the crushing defeat handed to the Italy’s centrist prime minister, Matteo Renzi, had worsened the outlook for the survival of the single currency.
Stock and bond markets shrugged off the immediate risk from the Italian vote, but a leading independent analyst warned that Italy’s membership of the euro on ‘borrowed time’ following Mr Renzi’s defeat at the hands of anti-establishment political forces.
The bitter three-month campaign had demonstrated that Italian voters would not tolerate indefinitely the chronic unemployment, stagnant wages and Brussels-imposed austerity that now came with euro membership.

This post was published at The Telegraph