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ITALY-POLITICS
Draghi to be sworn in as Italian PM
ROME, Feb 13, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Former European Central Bank chief Mario
Draghi will be sworn in Saturday as Italy’s new prime minister, charged with
guiding his country through the devastation wrought by the coronavirus
pandemic.
The 73-year-old, known as Super Mario for doing “whatever it takes” to
save the eurozone, has put together a national unity government involving
almost all Italy’s political parties.
He was parachuted in by President Sergio Mattarella after the previous
centre-left coalition under premier Giuseppe Conte collapsed, leading Italy
rudderless at a critical time.
Italy is battling the pandemic that hit one year ago, leaving more than
93,000 people dead and triggering the country’s deepest recession since World
War II.
Draghi has spent the last 10 days assembling a broad-based coalition and
on Friday night formally accepted the post of prime minister in a meeting
with Mattarella.
He spoke only to read out a list of his cabinet — a mix of technocrats,
veteran politicians and existing ministers — but will return on Saturday to
be formally sworn in at the presidential palace.
Following Saturday’s swearing-in hDraghi will be presented to the upper-
house Senate on Wednesday followed by the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday for
a confidence vote which will give the final official blessing to his
government.
– Coalition, for now? –
Draghi has the support of a rainbow coalition ranging from leftists to
Matteo Salvini’s far-right League.
It includes the populist Five Star Movement (M5S), the centre-left
Democratic Party (PD) and Italia Viva — who made-up the previous government
and then fell out over the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
M5S, the biggest party in parliament which began life as an anti-
establishment movement, was split over whether to support a government led by
an unelected technocrat.
But in an online vote, members backed Draghi by 59 percent, after securing
the promise of a new super-ministry for “ecological transition”.
That post has gone to renowned physicist Roberto Cingolani, who works at
Italian aeronautics giant Leonardo.
The senior deputy governor of Bank of Italy, Daniele Franco, was named as
the new economy minister, while Roberto Speranza and Luigi Di Maio stay on at
health and foreign affairs, respectively.
– Uphill challenges –
Italy has high hopes for its new leader, who himself has no political
power base but can count on his experience during years working in the
Italian civil service as well as his banking career.
His arrival was greeted with delight by the financial markets, and Italy’s
borrowing costs dropped to a historic low this week.
Nevertheless, “it is difficult to overstate the scale of the challenges
that Draghi and Italy face”, said Luigi Scazzieri of the Centre for European
Reform.
The Covid-19 shutdown and waves of subsequent restrictions caused the
economy to shrink by a staggering 8.9 percent last year, while more than
420,000 people have lost their jobs.
The virus remains rife and Conte’s cabinet, in one of its last acts,
tightened curbs in four regions and extended a ban on travelling between
regions.
Like other European Union countries, Italy has also fallen behind in its
vaccination programme, blaming delivery delays.
The country is pinning its hopes on receiving more than 220 billion euros
($267 billion) in EU recovery funds to help get back on its feet.
But disputes over how to spend the money, between demands for longstanding
structural reform and short-term stimulus, brought down the previous
government.
Draghi’s job looks easier than that faced by previous technocrat prime
ministers, such as Mario Monti in 2011, who turned to severe, unpopular
austerity measures during the debt crisis.
“But spending funds is not enough,” noted researcher Scazzieri, adding
that the new premier “will find it just as challenging to enact long-called
for reforms”.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1112 hrs