The Governing Council of the ECB has to look at the region as a whole, in the same way as the Federal Reserve System in the United States looks at the US economy rather than at the economies of Massachusetts or California. That said, each individual European economy has its assets and its liabilities. [Question] In that connection, what are your views on Italy?
[Answer] Italy has numerous qualities, including a very inventive and creative productive sector and dynamic small and medium-sized enterprises. But I will not pretend that it does not also have its weak points. Among these I could mention the increase in the unit labour cost, which has not helped the economy's competitiveness over the past few years.