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“This is Britain’s £893.4bn (€1,044bn) mountain of debt,” headlines the Independent, with an attention-grabbing “Debt Mountain” visual that conveys just how steep the UK’s climb to economic recovery will be. This comes on the morning of the Queen’s speech at the opening of the new parliament, during which £6.2 billion (€7.2bn) of “savage cuts” are to be announced, mainly to civil service pay and perks. The London daily is less than impressed though, pointing out that such savings represent only a tiny chunk from the bottom-right hand corner of the UK’s gigantic debt. Hairshirt austerity, however, is the order of the day Europe-wide with the Italian government announcing that the country must undergo “radical treatment” if it is to avoid the "Greece risk". La Repubblica reports on measures designed at reducing public debt, standing at an unsettling 118% of GDP. Savings of €24bn are planned in the public sector, with wage freezes and retirement restrictions. The Roman daily notes that PM Silvio had avoided the issue for a long time. But the squeeze announcement is proof Italy is "truly in a serious emergency".
