Rome - The centre-right opposition leader, Mr Silvio Berlusconi, yesterday cited the Irish economic miracle as an example for Italy to follow in its attempt to kick-start its economy, Paddy Agnew reports. Speaking at a news conference, Mr Berlusconi said if he wins next year's general election he will introduce a package of tax cuts and investment incentives, based on the principles of an open economy and designed to create private-sector growth while reducing unemployment.
Admitting the difficulty of invigorating an Italian economy with a current growth rate of 2.4 per cent, Mr Berlusconi said Italy needed both to eliminate bureaucratic obstacles to growth and to cut public sector costs, while it should also follow the example of Spain and Ireland, where an "intelligent taxation system", as well as a variety of economic incentives, had produced positive results.
"The positive experience of the government of Jose-Maria Aznar in Spain is proof that the proposals and recipes offered by free market principles work . . . These principles were already made to work by Mrs Thatcher in Britain, by Ronald Reagan in the USA and they work today in Ireland," he said.