It is in the interest of Italians to remain in the single European currency and the European Union, centre-left senator and foreign ministry under-secretary Benedetto Della Vedova said on Tuesday.
"It is in Italy's interest to keep the euro and to play a leading role in Europe from within the EU," Della Vedova wrote on Facebook.
The "defeatism" of politicians like Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the conservative Forza Italy party and Matteo Salvini, who heads the rightwing Northern League party, would put Italy "in the Second Division" Della Vedova warned.
"We want Italy in the First Division, a European Italy," said Della Vedova, who belongs to the ruling Democratic Party.
Berlusconi is in favour of a referendum on Italy's membership of the euro, proposed by the grassroots Five Star movement, but his fellow Euro-sceptic Salvini recently stated that it is "not a priority".
