Out of the frying pan, but into what?

摘要

IN MOST OF the 19 euro-zone countries, provisional first-quarter economic growth data offered pleasant surprises. But in Italy they had a special importance. The economy grew by 0.2% compared with the previous quarter, ending a short, shallow recession in the second half of 2018. The end of the contraction came at a politically delicate moment as the two parties in Giuseppe Conte's governing coalition battle for votes in the European elections later this month. The hard-right Northern League has barely half as many seats in parliament as the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S). But, under its hyperactive, media-savvy leader, Matteo Salvini, it has overtaken M5S in the polls.