Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini visits a place where a young girl was murdered, in Rome, Italy October 24, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Thursday that if necessary the government will take “counter-measures” to prevent economic damage from a rise in Italian bond yields.

He did not elaborate.

In a television interview on private broadcaster Rete 4, Salvini was also asked if the government was preparing a plan B if its contested 2019 budget failed to boost growth as planned. “We will spend even more” he replied.