The European Central Bank hates discussing the subject. The idea that Italy’s economic woes might lead the country to leave the eurozone is absurd, it argues. Monetary union has brought big advantages, by lowering interest rates and boosting trade within the 12-country bloc, the bank adds.

But the travails of the eurozone’s third largest economy have at least opened a debate about whether monetary union has failed to force the pace of reform in an underperforming country – and whether Italy might one day be forced to quit the eurozone.