Sectors that had borrowed on the basis of excessive growth expectations ran into difficulties. And it then takes a long time to recover from the crisis? Indeed. Everyone needs time to bring their balance sheet back into shape. Year after year, the ECB and the European Commission’s projections were far too optimistic. You always thought that things would be better in the coming year.
Did that not fuel scepticism? Perhaps. In 2011 the European economy found itself in a second recession. We did not see that coming, as most analysts didn’t. Italy has even undergone three recessions. That explains why, eight years after the outset of the crisis, citizens are becoming impatient. But there is now a danger that they will be tempted by simplistic solutions.