Italy’s sovereign debt hit an all-time high in march, jumping by 17.8 billion Euros to 2.79 trillion Euros, according to the country’s central bank.
The surge was driven by an increase in the public sector’s borrowing requirement of 31.3 billion Euros.
Massimiliano Dona, president of the National Consumer Union, warned that if the government debt were divided among the Italian population, it would amount to more than 47 thousand euros per citizen. Dona urged the government to limit itself to limiting energy bills, restoring discounts on system charges in the bill, as soaring energy prices have exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis in the EU’s third largest economy and have pushed up the level of public debt, which amounted to 144 percent of GDP between October and December 2022.
The European central bank once again increased rates last week, hiking them to 3.25 percent in an attempt to curb double-digit inflation across the Eurozone. Italian officials have lashed out at this move claiming that it puts more financial pressure on one of the most indebted countries in Europe.