Italy looks to "Super Mario" Draghi to end political crisis

Italy’s president is expected to ask Mario Draghi, former European Central Bank chief credited with saving euro, to try to lead Italy through coronavirus pandemic after last-ditch talks among squabbling politicians failed to produce a viable new coalition.

President Sergio Mattarella summoned Draghi, 73, for a on meeting Wednesday at Quirinale Palace. Mattarella was expected to ask Draghi to try to form a n-political government to replace caretaker Premier Giuseppe Conte’s coalition of 5-Star Movement and Democratic Party.

Conte was forced to resign last month after ex-Premier Matteo Renzi pulled his ministers of his small, centrist Italy Alive party from Conte’s government. Renzi, whose nickname is “il rottamatore," or “ demolisher," complained among or things about Conte’s plan to spend more than 200 billion euros ( $240 billion) in EU funds and loans to help ecomy recover from pandemic.

Draghi, kwn as “Super Mario” for having rescued common currency during Europe’s debt crisis, had been rumored as a possible choice to lead a n-political government if Conte was unable to find new parliamentary support.

A somber Mattarella told nation Tuesday night that while early elections were a possible outcome and a necessary “exercise in democracy,” y were ill-advised at this crucial time in Italy’s history. Italy, with over 89,000 confirmed virus deaths, has second-highest COVID-19 death toll in Europe after Britain. It is trying to ramp up its vaccination campaign and must report back to EU how it plans to spend recovery funds.

“It is refore my duty to make an appeal to all forces in parliament so that y grant confidence to a high profile government t linked to any political force,” Mattarella said.

Italy, third-largest ecomy in European Union, had been heading into a recession even before it became first country in West to be hit by COVID-19 last February. ensuing ecomic devastation has only made matters worse, with gross domestic product falling 8.8% last year and nearly 450,000 jobs lost, national statistics ncy ISTAT reported this week.

After government crisis erupted, Mattarella asked president of lower Chamber of Deputies, Roberto Fico, to sound out political leaders to see if an alternative coalition could be formed. Fico reported back Tuesday evening that he had failed, and Mattarella n summoned Draghi.

Renzi, who was premier from 2014-2016, blamed Conte’s forces for failed negotiations, saying y had rejected his proposals. He suggested he was pleased with outcome, praising Mattarella’s “wise” decision.

right-wing opposition, which had been leading polls prior to government tumult, still pressed for an early election, though Forza Italia party of ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi indicated its support for a “high-profile” government.

Draghi, 73, is perhaps best kwn for his intervention as ECB chief during peak of Europe’s debt crisis in 2012. As Italy was facing unsustainably high borrowing costs that threatened its financial stability, Draghi said in July 2012 that ECB was ready to do “whatever it takes” within its mandate to preserve euro.

It proved to be a turning point for Europe.

Draghi, a Massachusetts Institute of Techlogy-trained ecomist, had led Italian central bank from 2005-2011 when he was tapped to lead ECB, a job he held until 2019. Prior to that, he had been a vice chairman and managing director at Goldman Sachs International in London and an executive director at World Bank.