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  • The head of Milan's economically vital Lombardy region began waging a lonely campaign Thursday to get Italy to reopen for business and follow the lead of some smaller European nations. Attilo Fontana's messages on Facebook created a political firestorm in a country still coming to terms with a virus that has killed 21,645 and brought the economy to its knees. Italy's official toll -- believed to be substantially underreported -- was the world's highest until being overtaken by the United States last weekend. Its economic one is growing fast as well. The International Monetary Fund expects Italy's total output to shrink by 9.1 percent this year -- the worst peacetime decline in nearly a century. The Confindustria big business lobby estimates that each week of the national lockdown chops another 0.75 percent off the country's annual gross domestic product (GDP) figure. Millions of Italians are either furloughed or suddenly unemployed. Lombardy boss Fontana sounded like he had had enough when he posted a message outlining his 10-million-strong region's "road to freedom". He said businesses should follow basic social distancing rules and reopen when the current nationwide lockdown expires on May 4. "We are not courting controversy," Fontana said in a second post that responded the chorus of political criticism his first one drew late Wednesday. "But let's look at the substance: many other European countries already beginning to reopen. We need to start thinking about our own future immediately." Other European nations are eyeing ends to their own shutdowns with extreme caution. Denmark has started reopening schools for younger children and Finland lifted a blockade of Helsinki. Lithuania has allowed some small shops to resume operations. But most big European nations are extending the closures for at least a few more weeks. The vibrant Lombardy region had been punching above its weight until the pandemic hit. It makes up over a fifth of the Mediterranean country's economy and is home to the Italian headquarters of numerous global firms. But it also recorded more than half of Italy's officially recorded COVID-19 deaths. Most Italian officials still follow the advice of doctors who think it is best to keep the nation locked until new infections sharply drop off. Deputy Industry Minister Stefano Buffagni called Fontana's message "an error". Milan mayor Beppe Sala accused Fontana of shifting his position from alarm about the virus to one ordering "everyone outside". "A little more restraint would not be too much to ask for," Sala told La Repubblica newspaper. "I am not against an economic recovery, because it affects the work of so many people," the Milan mayor said. "But we must provide adequate guarantees first to those who go to work." Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has been widely applauded for his handing of what is widely viewed as Italy's worst crisis since World War II. His popularity rose and Italy's endless political battles appeared to abate as the nation rallied around the single cause of fighting the disease. But Conte acknowledged that his decision last Friday to extend Italy' month-long shutdown for another three weeks was not popular. "It is a difficult but necessary decision for which I assume full political responsibility," Conte told the nation. zak/rl
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  • Head of Italy's economic heartland fights lockdown
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