Is this the end of austerity for rich nations only?

When a country’s finances are a mess and a lender of last resort needs to step in, a bailout comes with conditions, mostly draconian austerity measures. But governments have also been known to implement them for ideological reasons.

With the pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) now says governments should keep spending and not worry about their finances until a recovery is managed.

But according to Oxfam, the majority of loans extended by the IMF during the pandemic will require some cuts to public spending.

Plus: A controversial pipeline that Italy claims will give Germany more power over its neighbours.