The yield on ten-year Italian bonds dropped on Wednesday, February 1, to levels not seen since October 2011. Investors seem to have gained renewed confidence in Italy, making the country a model for how to save Europe, writes the weekly magazine Le Point (February 2): “The Mario duo – Monti [Prime Minister of Italy] and Draghi [President of the European Central Bank] – has undertaken to transform Italy and the Eurozone…. Italy is paving the way for reforming the Southern European model of credit-based growth and the Eurozone’s institutions. Mario Monti’s shock therapy has dissipated doubts as to whether the Mediterranean countries can transform their economic model and achieve more production, investment and innovation.
“Mario Draghi’s monetary policy reconciles the need for austerity measures and debt reduction on the one hand and growth on the other. The two Marios remind us that there is still room for maneuver. The debt and euro crisis is the result of antiquated economic models and institutions which the Europeans must now transform.”
Eric Koch’s new book, The Weimar Triangle, is available at Indigo-Chapters and in your local bookstore. 
