The leaders of Italy’s new populist government say they do not want to leave the euro. Except, no one believes them.
They are on record as saying the euro was a bad idea. Until they were stopped by the President of the Italian Republic, they tried to appoint Paulo Savona, a well-known eurosceptic, as finance minister. Instead, they appointed him European Affairs Minister. In a recent book, Savona called the euro a “German cage” and wrote that “we need to prepare a plan B to get out of the euro if necessary … the other alternative is to end up like Greece.” In short, it is not surprising that the new government’s commitment to the euro is in doubt.
When whenever the possibility that some country might leave the euro arises. Leaving abandoning one currency and introducing a new one just too difficult, they say. They point to the years of planning that went into launching the euro in the first place. They warn that a country facing currencies would face a host of problems, ranging from panicked runs on banks to the need to reprogram vending machines.
Ultimately, though, such technical difficulties are surmountable. If Italy decides to leave the euro, the key to success will be to learn from the experience of the many countries that have changed currencies in the past. Here is a practical roadmap, drawing on the imaginative, pragmatic, devices that other countries have used to ease the introduction of a new currency.
