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The Italian economy is still struggling as the fourth quarter of the year draws to a close, Italy's National Statistics Institute said, virtually assuring it will contract for the year as a whole and casting doubt on the country's economic prospects in 2015.
The country's woes have drawn attention from various corners, including an unusual proposal from former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, but experts are split on whether or not the anemic growth rate can be blamed on the government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, which took power 10 months ago.
In its monthly bulletin, ISTAT, the statistics institute, said growth was on pace to be flat in the period from October to December. That means that unless there is an unexpected surge in economic activity over the last month of the year, Italy's economy will contract 0.3 percent compared to the previous year.
That follows a 1.9-percent contraction in 2013 and 2.3 percent the year before that. The economy has not grown since 2010, and if the predictions for this year hold its growth rate will have trailed that of the European Union as a whole for 12 of the 13 years since the introduction of the euro currency.
With the economy struggling after Renzi took power in February, economists warned not to blame poor performance on the country's new leader. Now, some are saying it may no longer be too early.
"It is difficult to turn around a struggling economy, especially one in need of so many reforms," Javier Noriega, economist with investment bankers Hildebrandt and Ferrar, said in an interview.
"Renzi has been doing what he can, but I would have expected to see some improvement in the economy and there has been little change," said the expert.
Gianfranco Piluso, an economist with the University of Siena, said there were some positive signs.
Italian signs savings rates appear to be on the rise, he noted, and he said that deep reforms like Renzi's changes to labor laws and taxes will need more time to take root.
"It will take at least a couple of years to completely evaluate Renzi's policies," Piluso told Xinhua.
Piluso said he is "pessimistic" about growth prospects for next year, even though ISTAT is predicting positive growth for next year as a whole. The professor, who says growth rates for 2015 may be slightly positive, is not the only one.
Berlusconi this week prescribed an unusual solution to the problem. The former prime minister suggested creating a new Italian currency that would circulate alongside the euro.
Some Italian media say Berlusconi's plan is an attempt to score political points, and some see it as a sign that desperate times require similarly desperate measures. For Piluso, the plan would not work.
"Complimentary currencies are confusing," he said. "One would be for international transactions and one for internal transactions. But who would want to be paid in the domestic currency?"
Noriega agreed: "There is no quick fix to Italy's economic problems." Enditem
