Financial market speculators will not deter Italy's populist government from its plan to triple the deficit next year to fund tax cuts and welfare spending, deputy premier and interior minister Matteo Salvini stated on Tuesday.
"Profiteers and speculators won't stop us - we will go forward for the sake of Italians," Salvini wrote on Facebook.
"The right to work and pensions for many, cuts to taxes and refunds for savers who were defrauded, investments in schools and health," he wrote.
"Concrete help for the poor and disabled. More members of Italy's security forces: we are not going to backtrack," Salvini underlined.
"We are certain these measures will create jobs and wealth."
The populist government's plan to run a 2.4 percent budget deficit in 2019 has roiled international markets and alarmed European Union officials, setting Rome on a potential collision course with Brussels.
The government argues its spending plans will boost Italy's sluggish growth but European officials fear they will push up Italy's massive debt pile to unsustainable levels and could even endanger the euro.
