Italy surprisingly out of balance?

In Italy, the year 2018 ended with a renewed shrinking of the gross domestic product. The new government of "Movimento 5 Stelle" and "Lega" very quickly blamed its predecessors for this development because the crisis in the Italian economy has been obscured before the elections. Moreover the deteriorating economic environment in the EU and the world economy is put forward to explain the Italian shortcomings. Against this background, the author discusses whether this sobering economic development really comes as a surprise.