- Title: ITALY: Italy's Mario Monti holds final rally in true professorial style
- Date: 22nd February 2013
- Summary: FLORENCE, ITALY (FEBRUARY 22, 2013) (REUTERS) ( ** BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) EXTERIOR OF THEATRE WHICH IS RALLY VENUE POSTER READING (Italian): "ITALY NEEDS TO BE REBORN" OFFICIALS WAITING VARIOUS OF OUTGOING PRIME MINISTER MARIO MONTI ARRIVING AT EVENT AUDIENCE INTERIOR OF THEATRE (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) OUTGOING ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER, MARIO MONTI, SAYING: "This morning, two things were announced, one: that Italy it is expected to get out of recession from the middle of 2013." THEATRE AUDIENCE MONTI SPEAKING POSTER READING (Italian): "ITALY IS RISING" (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) OUTGOING ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER, MARIO MONTI, SAYING: "The European Commission confirmed that Italy has corrected its budget deficit and in the next few years we expect it to meet its objectives." AUDIENCE MONTI SPEAKING AUDIENCE VARIOUS OF MONTI SPEAKING AUDIENCE
- Embargoed: 9th March 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Italy
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA3XZ1FSRSL4RC62OAMEIW5QD6P
- Story Text: Italy's Mario Monti shies away from glamourous election campaigning, holding his final rally in a modest theatre in Florence and highlights the progress made with the country's economy during his time in office.
Italy's caretaker Prime Minister Mario Monti ended his re-election campaign on Friday (February 22) by greeting EU predictions of a modest recovery as a validation of his time in office, two days before the election.
Despite the European Commission forecasting that Italy's economy will shrink one percent in 2013, Monti remained upbeat about the future.
"This morning, two things were announced, one: that Italy it is expected to get out of recession from the middle of 2013," Monti told supporters in a theatre in Florence.
"The European Commission confirmed that Italy has corrected its budget deficit and in the next few years we expect it to meet its objectives, he said.
Since taking office in November 2011, Monti has introduced a series of austerity measures and fought to bring the country's borrowing back under control.
Italians go to the polls this weekend with the economy mired in its longest recession for 20 years, having contracted in every quarter since the middle of 2011.
The commission's forecast is in line with Bank of Italy estimate that also sees a fall of 1 percent of GDP this year, but is more pessimistic than the government's forecast for a 0.2 percent decline in GDP this year.
The commission also hiked its unemployment forecasts for the country, predicting the unemployment rate would rise to 11.6 percent this year and 12 percent in 2014. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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