Political crisis in Italy: Mario Draghi called to the rescue
Former ECB President Mario Draghi in Frankfort in October 2019. AP - Michael Probst
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Italian President Sergio Mattarella, faced with the political crisis caused by the resignation of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, summoned former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi for a midday interview on Wednesday, his spokesman announced Tuesday evening.
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The announcement of the convocation of Mario Draghi came just after that of the failure of consultations for the renewal of the outgoing coalition led by Giuseppe Conte.
"
I have not noted a unanimous availability to give birth to a majority
" of government, declared the president of the Chamber of Deputies Roberto Fico after an interview with Sergio Mattarella, who had charged him with assess the feasibility of such a scenario.
What would have failed the negotiations led by Roberto Fico is a story of portfolios, reports our correspondent in Rome,
Anne Le Nir
.
Matteo Renzi would have demanded, in vain, that several ministers, including those of Justice and Labor, from the 5-Star Movement, be replaced by members of his Italia Viva party.
The ball therefore returned to the court of President Sergio Mattarella.
The latter, hostile to early legislative elections in a context of economic and social health emergency, appealed to all political forces to support an institutional government which could be led by Mario Draghi.
Credited with having saved the euro zone in 2012 in the midst of the debt crisis,
Mario Draghi
is a man known for his discretion, his seriousness and his determination.
He has a degree in economics and a doctorate from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
"
Mario Draghi is an extremely well prepared and determined person,
" commented for AFP Giuliano Noci, professor of strategy at the Polytechnic business school in Milan.
"
He would certainly be able to get Italy out of the crisis, with the support of the country and the Parliament
".
Conte will probably not be renewed
Giuseppe Conte was forced to resign last Tuesday, almost two weeks after
the withdrawal from his coalition of former head of government Matteo Renzi
and his Italia Viva (IV) party, essential to have a parliamentary majority.
The two pillars of his coalition, the Democratic Party (center left) and the 5 Star Movement (anti-system) continued to support him, but without IV he did not have an assured majority in Parliament.
While waiting for President Mattarella to decide on the course to take, Giuseppe Conte, who will probably not be renewed in view of the announcements of this Tuesday evening, continues to manage current affairs in the midst of the pandemic, which has killed more than 88,000 people and made drop the gross domestic product by 8.9% in 2020, according to an official estimate released Tuesday.
To revive the bloodless economy, Italy is counting on a plan of more than 200 billion euros financed by the European mega-plan of recovery decided in July by the European Union, but the political crisis which persists raises doubts on the country's capacity to implement it.
(With
AFP
)
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Italy
Giuseppe Conte