Political chaos in the euro zone's third-biggest economy won't be going away anytime soon, according to International Monetary Fund former chief economist Olivier Blanchard, who on Tuesday issued an ominous assessment of the country.
Panic roiled markets Tuesday as a political fight in Italy prompted one of its worst market sell-offs in years. Underlying investor fear was the prospect of Italy leaving the euro and others following suit, which Blanchard, now an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, described as more of a psychological fear than a realistic threat.
The potential concern, rather, involves Italy's creditors, who would have to "move carefully," the economist told CNBC's Joumanna Bercetche in Paris. The rest of Europe may avoid a domino effect, but Italy looks to remain mired in a quagmire.
Panic roiled markets Tuesday as a political fight in Italy prompted one of its worst market sell-offs in years. Underlying investor fear was the prospect of Italy leaving the euro and others following suit, which Blanchard, now an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, described as more of a psychological fear than a realistic threat.
The potential concern, rather, involves Italy's creditors, who would have to "move carefully," the economist told CNBC's Joumanna Bercetche in Paris. The rest of Europe may avoid a domino effect, but Italy looks to remain mired in a quagmire.
"I suspect in this case the EU will do whatever is needed to prevent contagion, so I'm not terribly worried about contagion," Blanchard said. "I'm very worried about Italy. Not worried about the rest of Europe. It will be tough, but the rest of Europe, the rest of (the) euro will be OK."My sympathies to the good people of Italy, the EU will crush them. As per Günther Hermann Oettinger (European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources):
"Markets will teach Italy to vote for the right thing".
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