Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem faced calls to quit today as a row escalated over his comments that southern European countries blew their money on "drinks and women".
"The sooner he goes the better," former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said in comments that underlined how Dijsselbloem's gaffe has exposed simmering north-south tensions within the European Union's single currency zone.
"He has missed a perfect opportunity to shut up," Renzi said in a post on a Facebook page that reflected criticism of the Dutch finance minister from across the EU's so-called Club Med group of countries.
Dijsselbloem's influential position as leader of his colleagues in the 19-country eurozone was already up in the air after his party lost out in elections last week.
And he has lost significant backing from political allies on the centre-left as a result of an interview that appeared in Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper on Monday.
"During the euro crisis, the countries of the north of the eurozone showed solidarity with the countries in crisis," he was quoted as saying.
"For me, as a social democrat, I think that solidarity is extremely important. But whose who benefit also have duties," he added.
"I can't spend all my money on drinks and women and then ask for help."
Dijsselbloem refused to apologise late yesterday. "No, certainly not," he told a European Parliament lawmaker during a hearing when asked if he would say sorry.
But he faced mounting criticism in Europe.
Manfred Weber, the head of the largest group in the parliament, the centre-right European People's Party, tweeted today: "Eurozone is about responsibility, solidarity but also respect. No room for stereotypes. @J_Dijsselbloem."
"I truly wonder how someone with these views can still be head of the Eurogroup," said Gianni Pittella, the head of the Socialist group in the European Parliament, branding his remarks "shameful" and "discriminatory towards the countries of southern Europe".
The row was a top story on Italian news bulletins today as commentators rounded on a politician already regarded with suspicion because of what are seen as his hawkish views on the application of EU budget rules to Italy.
Corriere della Sera daily said Djisselbloem's comments should cost him his role.
"One would have thought that in Amsterdam they know a thing or two about pubs and brothels, even spending their loose change in their coffee shops," the broadsheet said in a reference to the Netherlands' legal cannabis cafes.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
