Italy’s New ‘Parallel Currency’ Proposal Risks the Implosion of Europe

The proposal to create a parallel currency for Italy, called mini-Bots, looks like it might become a reality. This idea is a threat to the existence of the eurozone — and the stability of the entire global economy.

While this idea is not a new one, it has recently become a serious proposal in Italy as populist Euro-skeptic parties have gained more and more control. Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and leader of the League, might win the next election with such a margin that the rules will give him a super-majority in Parliament. Allowing him to the create the parallel currency that they’ve been talking about for years. Reuters Reported back in 2017 that:

The Northern League’s Borghi said Italy “has to be ready for the euro’s collapse,” which he sees as only a matter of time. He is the architect of the party’s proposal — which Berlusconi has also hinted he would support — called “mini-BOTs”, named after Italy’s short-term Treasury bills.

Borghi says initially some 70 billion euros of these small denomination, interest-free bonds would be issued by the Treasury to firms and individuals owed money by the state as payment for services or as tax rebates. They could then be used as money to

pay taxes and buy any services or goods provided by the state, including, for example, petrol at stations run by state-controlled oil company ENI.