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The former president of the European Central Bank (ECB) was summoned by the Italian president on Tuesday to help resolve a political deadlock that threatens the ability of the eurozone’s third-largest economy to withstand two simultaneous crises: a pandemic and a severe recession.
Following the failure of the Italian ruling parties to agree to a new government, President Sergio Mattarella is expected to petition Draghi to take over as prime minister on Wednesday.
Mr. Draghi might be the right person right now.
“Never give up,” he said in October 2019, handing over the leadership of the ECB to Christine Lagarde.
Then when asked what would happen next and if he found politics at least a little attractive, he replied cryptically: “I really don’t know, I’ve said it several times. Ask my wife, she knows better. “
For several weeks, political observers have cited Draghi as the man with the greatest potential to solve Italy’s current problems.
“Mario Draghi is a very prepared and determined person,” Giuliano Noci, a strategy professor at the Milan Polytechnic Business School, told AFP. “He could really get Italy out of the crisis with the help of the country and the parliament.”
Draghi assumed the presidency of the ECB in November 2011, when the eurozone was hit by the debt crisis. He was working at a time when the bloc was in danger of collapse, worried that the Greek debt crisis would spread to other countries.
However, under Draghi’s leadership, the ECB has made unusual interventions in response to the rapidly deteriorating economic and financial situation in some euro area countries.
Super mary
The ruling Italian parties failed to agree on a new government before Tuesday’s deadline.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned last week when one of the coalition parties withdrew due to disagreement over the government’s response to the pandemic and its aftermath. All, however, expected Mr. Conte to return to the helm of the reorganized cabinet.
The ruling parties, notably the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and the center-left Democratic Party, have continued talks about other options since Friday. The Italia Viva party of former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi also took part in the debate, sparking the crisis when he left government last month.
Draghi, who was born in Rome on September 3, 1947 and has a wife and two children, graduated from Mattarella and graduated in economics with a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He teaches economics at various Italian universities.
From 1984 to 1990, he worked for the World Bank and in 1991 became Director General of the Italian Treasury Department, a position he held for 10 years, during which he organized a series of privatizations.
In 2002, he joined the management of Goldman Sachs, a Wall Street investment bank, and three years later he was called in charge of the Italian bank, which was rocked by scandal at the time, including its former manager.
In January 2021, a citizen movement demanded that this economist, nicknamed “Super Marius”, take charge and “save Italy.”
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