There was in Italy a hidden demand for a boring government which would try to tell the truth in non-political jargon.

Europe has to avoid old prejudices and new ones. That means north versus south, rich versus poor.

There was in Italy a hidden demand for a boring government which would try to tell the truth in non-political jargon.

I hope that my government can help change Italian mentality.

This is certainly not the first case in which a merger approved in one place hasn't gone through in the other. There was a case last year where the merger between two EU companies was approved here and blocked in the U.S.

I know that speaking with parties, which I do, but not very often, is seen by many as a contamination.

If governments let themselves be fully bound by the decisions of their parliaments without protecting their own freedom to act, a breakup of Europe would be a more probable outcome than deeper integration.