The global economic crisis is ''particularly serious'' but it can be weathered if businessmen and consumers remain confident, Premier Silvio Berlusconi said on Monday.
Speaking at the inauguration of the new headquarters of the American networking and communications technology company Cisco Business Systems, Berlusconi said that although the crisis ''appears to be particularly serious'' its duration ''depends on our reaction''.
He reassured Italians, saying no one would face ''poverty'' because the government was ready to step in and ''help more unfortunate citizens''.
''Thank goodness, we're a country that tends to save. On the whole, most families have savings accounts and our banking system is the most solid in Europe''.
The government has earmarked 150 million euros to help banking system, ''but not a single bank has needed state funding,'' he said.
''On October 10, I told Italians that the government would not allowe the banks to go bankrupt and that's exactly what happened''.
Referring to consumer spending, Berlusconi said employees' were earning more so their purchasing power has not been dented.
''There's no reason for consumers to change their spending habits,'' he said.
A drive by Civil Service Minister Renato Brunetta to increase the presence of staff in public offices has reaped results because absenteeism has plunged 40%, he said.
''Civil service workers have received bonuses and the drop in gasoline prices has brought down retail prices,'' said Berlusconi.
The premier then gave businessmen a personal recipe to face the crisis, telling them that to stay upbeat they should stop reading the papers.
He recalled meeting former British premier Margaret Thatcher at the Barbados and telling her he usually went to bed fuming after reading previews of the next day's papers.
''She told me that if you're governing it's best not to read the papers and that she only looked at those that had positive things to say''.
This bit of advice had prompted him to ask government spokesman Paolo Bonaiuti to show him only the ones worth reading, said the premier.
''I ended up not seeing him for two months,'' said Berlusconi, adding: ''that's why I believe businessmen should follow this recipe and boost their confidence.
The papers - especially the headlines - are always saying that everything is crumbling to bits. We've always had crises but then they end. This crisis is very serious but it can be shortened depending on how we react to it''.
On Friday, Berlusconi accused the media of exaggerating the consequences of the crisis which he said was ''certainly severe but not tragic''.
Speaking to the press to illustrate his government's 17.8-billion-euro package to fund a major public works program, the premier said that ''it's harmful to everyone's interest that the media presents the crisis as something tragic. This is an exaggeration because the crisis is severe but not tragic''.
''There is no doubt that the crisis exists, but the media is making it much more dramatic than it really is. One need only look at the fact that the plunge on stock markets has been caused by (the performance of) only a handful of stocks,'' Berlusconi observed.
