Probably true. But it would give Italians better control of their economy (rather than Brussels). And it would probably be the hole in the dike that leads to the Euro falling apart.

How would it give the Italians better control of their economy, except for a better ability to create lira inflation? The "control" they won would be destructive.

If these were competing currencies, and the motive were tighter money in the lira than the Euro, there might be something to it. But a loose-money lira is not going to be patronized by anyone but the government, and here they say even the government won't accept it.

If Padania got its independence as the Northern League wishes, an independent nation run from Milan,using the lira as its currency would be the richest country in Europe.

For about an hour.

PJ - I was thinking the lira would be separate from the euro, not a parallel as is being suggested. My point was that the one size fits all practice of the ECB isn't working and that some countries need lower rates to try and stimulate their economies which they can't get right now from the ECB.

Lombardy, Friuli and the Veneto have been subsidizing the rest of Italy since WWI. The Northern League wants that to stop and realizes that because the Mezzogiorno has all the votes, it can vote itself benefits from the public trough not unlike American welfare recipients in big cities.

OJ, there is a great big world outside the Eastern Time Zone. You really should try to get out more.

It's a dump

Remember, everything outside of the Eastern Time Zone is a dump, by definition. I just wish New Hampshire would go on one of those half-hour timeszones like Newfoundland. Or better yet, go back to Sun Time so each little town could have it's own little timezone.

PJ running their own currency would give the Italians the ability not to be chocked to death to support the French and the Germans.

OJ: Bart, mirabile dictu, is correct. Italy was assembled in the 19th century out of some very disparate parts. Disassembling it would not be a bad thing.

Is there any country in the world you guys aren't looking forward to breaking up? Just remember, if history is any guide, you'll be the ones paying the bills.

Bermuda

Andorra.

Andorra! slowly i turned, inch by inch...

Peter,

There is no good reason to maintain the borders of dead empires, merely because they were always there. A Europe where places like Catalonia, Brittany, Alsace, the Tirol, and the Basque region were all separate states makes more sense than the current version. Certainly, the Velvet Divorce between the Czechs and Slovaks provides a template.

Attempts to keep pseudo-nations together like Bosnia or Iraq only resort in unnecessary bloodshed.

And Sub-Saharan Africa should simply agree to have all its boundaries erased and redrawn on tribal lines.