ROME, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said he saw Italy's relaunched ITA Airways as a business that was going to keep getting smaller and require continued government support.

"We are Italy's flag carrier, so we hope the new government will recognize that and work with us, because we want to grow," he said at a news conference in Rome, describing ITA, the successor to Alitalia, as a "huge political problem." (Reporting by Alvise Armellini Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Cristina Carlevaro)