
A Picture shows the logo of Italian bank the Monte Dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS) on December 9, 2016 in Rome.
TIZIANA FABI/AFP/Getty Images
Italy’s new government is asking lawmakers to approve a bailout package of some $20 billion to rescue its heavily-indebted banks. Many banks in the Eurozone’s third-biggest economy are at risk. However things shake out, this situation could bring financial suffering to many ordinary Italians and strengthen a populist backlash against the European Union and its single currency, the Euro.