Italy and the EU: a poor relationship that could break the union

Brexit isn't the EU's only problem as Italy's leaders seem intent on a bruising collision with Brussels

MACHO POSTURING: Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on a visit to Rome’s counter-terrorism unit. Photo: Remo Casilli/Reuters

Paddy Agnew

'Effectively, the strong man in this Italian government is Mr Salvini... and his great wish is to see the disintegration of the European Union... so the [EU] establishment's insistence on policies that don't work in Italy is bringing the European Union closer and closer to disintegration."

That dire warning came last week from the former Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis - he of the shaved head, the leather jacket and the powerful motor bike. In a week when most observers would probably agree that, right now, Brexit is the single biggest problem facing the EU, Varoufakis chose to remind us that it is by no means the only serious problem.