Instead of embracing the poll’s outcome, however, Tsipras fired Varoufakis. To keep the bailout funds flowing, Tsipras set about implementing everything the EU and other creditors had been demanding for months with the zeal of a convert. The reason? As tough as the bailout terms were, the alternative — default and ejection from the euro — was worse. [...]
Italians may opt to learn Greece’s lesson the hard way. If they do, there’s a good chance the euro won’t survive. Considering the difficulty Europe had coping with Greece, a country the fraction of Italy’s size, there’s little hope the common currency could withstand such a crisis.
The consequences of such a scenario would obviously be catastrophic, not least for Italy, whose savers would see the value of their assets decimated if the country reverts to the lira. Italy’s massive debt load, now at €2.4 trillion, would continue to balloon as its borrowing costs surged, assuming it could even find investors.
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