Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti on Monday called for cooperation to help overcome the current economic and financial crisis.
Speaking at a business conference, Tremonti made an appeal ''to all free and strong men to cooperate in the interest of the nation without prejudice or preconceptions''.
After recalling that he had foreseen the crisis well ahead of time, the minister said that ''it's right to be realistic but one must never be pessimistic. Pessimism will brings us a future with no future, a negative spiral which only generates a poverty that is not just material but also civil''.
According to Tremonti, ''Italy is in much better shape that we believe'', even though it did have the third-biggest public debt in the world.
''If you look at our consolidated debt, public and private, it amounts to 125% of GDP, compared to 130% in Germany while for other countries it's better not to talk about it,'' Tremonti said.
