(Bloomberg) -- Italy's Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini said pulling the country out of the euro or the European Union “has never been in the works,” according to the Ansa news agency.
The League party leader, who is seeking early elections after ditching his coalition partnership with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, was speaking in the Southern city of Policoro as part of a series of summer beach rallies. He pledged a “constructive dialogue” with the EU over Italy's 2020 budget, preparation of which would be upended by an expected snap election sometime in October.
Salvini's claim about the euro contradicts the League's manifesto for the 2018 election, which called for a “shared path toward a negotiated exit” from the single currency. It described the euro as “the main cause of our economic decline, a currency tailored for Germany and multinationals, and contrary to the needs of Italy and small businesses.”
Read more: Italy Finally Faces Its Moment of Truth: Ferdinando Giugliano
While the deputy premier has toned down his anti-euro rhetoric since entering office, several prominent lawmakers from his party are vocal euroskeptics.
The League is polling around 37%, more than double the 17% it received in the March 2018 elections, and Salvini has said he will seek the prime minister post for himself in the coming vote.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alessandro Speciale in Rome at aspeciale@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Andrew Davis, John Deane
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