Ah, the great EU boogeyman. Let's put aside for a moment how most of the things presented as bullying here are, once again, just following rulesets that Italy agreed on. But let's talk economics!
First off, let me make clear that I am not really that much a fan of austerity measures. However, I have to acknowledge that, like most economic tools, they do work at times. The Italian economy is recovering at the moment. It had been for the last 4 years, actually. Unemployment and debt falling, GDP growth picking up, etc. Could the same have happened with an expansive policy? Possibly. No one could tell. But chances are, the debt would have ballooned, rather than contracted, even if the stimulus did help. That is how it usually goes. Austerity is more a thing to help the long-term health of an economy, rather than a short-term one. And that is why it is so unpopular and gets your populists parties elected. Election cycles are too short to reward long-term policies, and it is super easy to promise a better life by rejecting austerity measures. Hence, at least I would never ask "how could this have happened?" because it is pretty obvious how. Doesn't make it any better, but it is not surprising in the least.
Anyway, back on track. There is another dimension to all of this. Namely, historical context. Italy has always been struggling. As this article
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcoan.../#19c99c9a11a3 notes, unemployment after the recessions and austerity measures was not too different from what it was during Italy's strongest periods. I agree with the author that there seem to be severe structural problems in Italy, which led to it being so susceptible to the crisis to begin with. Neither austerity measures nor deficit spending would or will change anything about that, since both just combat the symptoms, instead of the disease. The article suggests that a lack of growth in terms of productivity might be one of the bigger issues, but neither measures do anything about it.
Mind you, I see austerity a bad answer to the problem. I just see the proposed budget back then to be just as bad. It is just failing in another way, one that puts the burden on current generations instead of coming ones. But what Italy needs is an actual bully that shakes up its whole industrial sector and forces it into shape. Anything else is just strutting about, not changing anything.