Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi wanted to solve the problem by withdrawing Italy from the eurozone and devaluing the new currency. He conducted exploratory conversations with other eurozone governments in the autumn of 2011, and had sought an agreement with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who proposed a referendum that effectively would have meant choosing between strict austerity and exiting the eurozone.
前总理贝卢斯科尼试图通过让意大利退出欧元区然后贬值新货币解决问题。2011年秋，他与其他欧元区国家政府开展了试探性交流，并与希腊总理帕潘德里欧达成了一致，后者建议举行实质上是在严格的紧缩和退出欧元区两个选项中做选择的公投。