World news: Draghi to the rescue of Italy

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by Paolo Cappelli

03 February 2021

Few Italians in the world are better known and appreciated than Mario Draghi.

But few have also been more fought, praised, criticized, especially in Europe, during the eurozone crisis.

And this interpretation accompanies us today in the Italian government crisis seen from the outside.

A crisis that almost all international newspapers, conservative or progressive, see as profound, born well before the pandemic, and reached a decisive point.

Financial Times

Draghi on the political stage with the difficult task of saving Italy

Italy summons Super Mario into an ever deeper political crisis

Draghi, "Super Mario" for his famous tenure at the ECB, is esteemed for saving the euro from disaster during the continent's public debt crisis.

Working as an Italian prime minister will likely prove to be as stressful as working at the ECB.

The pandemic, with more than 88,000 deaths from Covid-19 and the most severe economic contraction in Italy's modern history, fueled a political crisis and caused the collapse of the coalition government last month.

Any new prime minister will be tasked with spending the € 200 billion Italy will receive from the EU recovery fund, the largest amount in the Union.

If these funds, hailed as a spectacular example of pan-European solidarity, fail to avert Italy's decades-long economic decline, the consequences will be felt far beyond its borders.

Editorial: Draghi embarks on the rescue mission

the danger for Draghi is that the premiership turns out to be a poisoned goblet.

According to the Italian constitution, prime ministers are weaker than French presidents, German chancellors or British prime ministers, and particularly weak if they don't have solid parliamentary support.

As an unelected technocrat in an age of populism, and without a party base of his own, Draghi will be vulnerable to criticism that his policies are not the expression of popular will.

With elections on the horizon, he will risk becoming hostage to political parties before his government has a chance to introduce the economic and administrative reforms Italy has needed for decades.

A fate that has already fallen to Mario Monti

Le Point

A bazooka for Italy

After Conte's resignation, the former head of the ECB was tasked with forming a "high profile" government.

It is urgent to offer a future to Italy.

Welt

A Draghi for all needs

Mario Draghi should lead Italy out of the chaos of the government.

The former head of the European Central Bank (ECB) is the preferred candidate of President Sergio Mattarella, who absolutely wants to avoid early elections in the midst of the Corona crisis.

If the plan works, Draghi at the head of a technocratic government could once again not only save Italy, but also shape the entire European Union in its favor.

The stakes for Germany are very high if the 73-year-old banker returns to the big stage in his new role as Italian Prime Minister.

The former head of the ECB enjoys enormous popularity in his home country.

His compatriots have not forgotten that "Super-Draghi" saved Italy from the collapse of 2012, at the height of the European debt crisis, with its mythical challenge to the financial markets to defend the euro at all costs.

But its motto "What ever it takes" has led the ECB on the path of an increasingly accommodative monetary policy, which also has serious negative consequences.

Because the reformist zeal in heavily indebted countries - especially in Italy - has marked.

And in creditor countries like Germany, savers are paying a high price for an ongoing zero interest rate policy.

Draghi, as Italian Prime Minister, would once again be exactly where the most important decisions for the future of Europe are being made.

Because in the coming months it will not only be about the distribution of funds from the new EU fund for reconstruction in your country.

The question of whether the 750 billion euros will be enough to cope with this serious economic crisis is also already under discussion.

And many people have long been asking for the new pot of money to be used not just once, but as a permanent transfer system.

Furthermore, the EU will soon have to decide whether and to what extent the rules of the European Stability Pact should be relaxed.

Especially since the level of Member States' debt after the Crown crisis will be above 100% of gross domestic product (GDP) and thus well above the previously allowed maximum limit of 60%.

As the head of an expert government, Draghi himself could now initiate the economic reforms he had been asking in vain of the respective governments in Rome over the past two decades, first as president of the Italian central bank and then as head of the ECB.

L'Humanité

with banker Draghi Italy turns to the right

Reduction of deficits, liberalization of the labor market, loyalty to Brussels are Mario Draghi's priorities.

An Atlanticist, pro-European, austerity turn

Kleine Zeitung

Super Mario should solve the problem

Today's textbooks talk about the "dragons effect", including the announcement that, as head of the ECB, he will take all measures to defend the euro from market speculation ("Whatever it takes ").

Now the "Draghi Effect" is about to take effect in the depths of Roman politics.

The big question is whether it will be successful.

Because the 73-year-old's strength is his Achilles heel.

He is a connoisseur of the system and its expression.

For populists in the Rome parliament, Draghi is a good meal.

ABC

The arrival of Draghi pleases the business world and divides populists

Addressing Draghi as the savior of the homeland represents the failure of the Italian political class, engaged in a permanent guerrilla war.

Draghi hopes to win a large majority in parliament.

A failure, which is not contemplated today, would lead the country to early elections.

FAZ

Mario Draghi and the brawlers, by Gerard Braunberger

The Italian question is easy to describe.

Beyond the current difficulties caused by the pandemic, Italy is ultimately a rich country with many highly skilled workers and a far more important industry than that of France.

However, Italy has been poorly governed for many decades, also due to the tendency to blame for negative economic developments abroad, and preferably to the European Union, Germany or the ECB.

During his presidency at the ECB, Draghi continually called for and called for structural reforms for the eurozone to increase the potential for economic growth.

While he was preaching reforms, proposals in Rome alternated whether it was convenient to leave the euro or whether the ECB should cancel the public debt by buying Italian government bonds.

With cautious optimism, but not with euphoria, the markets reacted well yesterday to Mario Draghi's assignment.

Beyond the pandemic, Italy is facing many other problems.

Mario Draghi could lead the country to take a step forward, if he does not fail because of the Italian political class.

Wall Street Journal

And now the next issue of Mario Draghi

the wizard of monetary policy will try to pull a rabbit of reforms

out of his hat

to save Italy

Mario Draghi is often credited with having pulled out the almost impossible trick of saving Italy euro during the serial sovereign debt crises of the last decade.

So let's wish him luck as he now attempts an issue from David Copperfield as Italy's new Prime Minister.

He will need it.

Draghi's appointment is Rome's last hope of putting together a new government to avoid early elections.

Why Italy wants Mr. Draghi is easy enough to understand.

His tenure as president of the European Central Bank makes him one of Europe's most respected politicians, a reputation he bolstered in retirement while avoiding screamed Italian domestic politics.

His authority could help him build support among Italian politicians for a new coalition and reassure European markets and leaders that a responsible adult is steering the ship to Rome. 

Why Mr. Draghi wanted this job, however, is a mystery forever and ever.

He knows exactly what plagues the Italian economy, we know because he spent all his time at the ECB begging Rome and other European governments to implement supply-side fiscal reforms and policies.

He also presumably knows that political forces have prevented such reforms from taking place.

Only patriotism can explain why he volunteers for such a thankless task. 

Especially since its very appointment indicates a fundamental dysfunction.

Let's say that almost no one else can form a government because another politician probably could: Matteo Salvini.

Its coalition of center-right parties has won many elections since 2018, and polls suggest that the Lega and center-right parties would fare well if Italy held the early elections it probably needs.

El Pais

Mattarella's decision is intelligent;

Draghi's availability is commendable, considering that he is putting his prestige on the line in a difficult situation and without having clear parliamentary support a priori.

The circumstances that led to this point are those of political failure.

It is yet another incarnation of a chronic flaw in the Italian political system: an unhealthy instability that has seriously hampered the possibilities of development and led the country to get bogged down in economic stagnation and an unhappy spiral of collective pessimism.

The solution proposed by Mattarella and Draghi to this new episode of instability is the best possible.

There is no guarantee that it will be successful.

But, reading between the lines of the first political signals, one can guess that he has a good chance.

If this were the case, experience would also have the advantage of favoring a certain maturation of the various Italian political formations.

This is a legislature dominated by anti-establishment parties such as the Movimento 5 Stelle, the Lega and Fratelli d'Italia, which got 54% of the votes in 2018. A gesture of responsibility can now represent a point of positive evolution in their stories .

They should understand it, for the good of the Italians.

Le Figaro

Vaccini: how Europe is left behind

Lack of planning, weak involvement of the industrial apparatus: the 27 are in tow in the vaccination race.

Pressure on the European Commission and

editorial

governments increases

: a machine of inefficiency

The EU had a historic opportunity to prove its usefulness to its citizens.

In the face of the pandemic, show the negotiating force in the Community purchase phase of vaccines: 2.3 billion doses.

The photo celebrating the simultaneous launch of vaccination in Europe ignored the waste machine that has now become the European bureaucracy: heavy, incompetent, risk-free.

This mastodon now trudges behind the USA, UK, Israel, China, Russia, India.

In a democratic regime, the resignation of Ursula von der Layen would be in the bill.

Lack of transparency contracts, diplomatic missteps to resolve the issue of the border between the two Ireland: the commitment to a Europe of health not maintained.

While we are still waiting for the first payments of the fund to relaunch the economy, we tremble at the idea that this same administration should be added to that of the individual countries.

Ursula von der Layen had promised a Europe that protects, leads an impoverished and downgraded Europe

Wall Street Journal

This hedge fund earned $ 700 million on GameStop

Individual investors weren't the only ones making big money on the GameStop stock hunt

Richard Mashaal and Brian Gonick began buying shares of GameStop Corp. in September.

I am not Sunday traders on Reddit or Discord users.

They are hedge fund managers in New York.

And when the stock went from under $ 10 per share to over $ 400 and the dust settled, they were sitting on a profit of nearly $ 700 million, one of the biggest fortunes of the January market craze.

The GameStop wave is often seen as a triumph of amateurs over pros.

Which was, to some extent.

But it was also a war that pitted professionals against other professionals, and few made more money than Senvest Management LLC, Messrs Mashaal and Gonick.

From the editorial staff 

El Espectador

(Colombia)  

“I unequivocally reject the decision of the previous US administration of Donald Trump to define Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.

President Biden should immediately begin the review process to revoke it. "These are statements by the former president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, in a statement collected by The Elders, the organization founded by South African Nelson Mandela in 2007." Cuba should be applauded for the crucial role it played in helping to end decades of conflict and in facilitating reconciliation in Colombia, without suffering sanctions for doing so.

Countries that facilitate peace processes deserve our gratitude and recognition ", said the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for the agreement signed at the end of 2016 with the extinct guerrilla organization of the FARC, now disarmed and transformed in political party.

The reasons why the previous US administration took the decision are directly linked to Colombia, as the government of Iván Duque is demanding the extradition of the ELN negotiating delegation that remains in Cuba;

however, the island refuses to do so due to protocols signed in the past.

Faced with Trump's decision, uribism asked President Iván Duque to rethink diplomatic relations with the island, stating that he agreed with Cuba's entry into the list.

"Today Cuba represents a real obstacle to achieving the peace with justice that all Colombians desire", was one of the expressions that the members of the Congress of the Democratic Center sent to Duque.

In conclusion, Santos said that the inclusion of the island in the blacklist of the State Department in the last minutes also hinders the resumption of the rapprochement policy between Washington and Havana as foreseen by the Democratic president.

Red Star

(Russia)

Myanmar is an old and reliable partner of Russia

Myanmar's position in Southeast Asia is why not only regional but also global geopolitical forces show a high interest in Myanmar

Loyalty to democracy

The senior general Min Aung Hlaing declared his allegiance to the principles of multi-partyism and democracy, which were blatantly violated last November.

He promised new transparent elections after the lifting of the state of emergency.

Mien Swe was named interim president.

We point out that what is happening, despite the eloquent headlines in various media about a coup, can hardly be qualified as such.

The fact is that the decision to declare a state of emergency is seen as an attempt to resolve a political crisis through legal means as prescribed by Myanmar's current constitution.

A state of emergency was declared after the Myanmar Electoral Commission refused to examine the opposition's allegations of irregularities in the November 2020 parliamentary elections, won by the ruling party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

Thus, the crisis we see today is the result of the NLD government's reluctance to investigate violations of electoral law, carefully documented by observers, and its refusal to reconsider recent election results.

In particular, the opposition has asked to verify these irregularities, by addressing directly to the President, the Electoral Commission, the Parliament and the Supreme Court, without having received any response.

According to Myanmar law, the Armed Forces guarantee the protection of the Constitution and the free and fair conduct of elections.

It has come to light that the military conducted a review of last November's elections and the use of election technology in 315 polling stations.

It was found that 5.802 million voters were included in the electoral roll with the same (identical) personal data resulting from their identity cards.

In addition, the votes cast by underage children, a large number of voters over the age of 100, and more than 4.6 million voters without ID cards were revealed.

The total number of potential cases of electoral fraud and irregularities amounts to approximately 10.5 million (representing almost a quarter of the voters).

In recent years, seven thousand officers of the Myanmar Armed Forces have undergone training courses in Russia.

The aspiration of Myanmar's military leadership to establish close and all-encompassing cooperation with Moscow is also pragmatic.

The reason for this is directly linked to fears of increasing interference, including through the use of the technology of "subversive street revolutions", in the internal affairs of an independent state.

HB

(Ukraine)

Opposition begins impeachment of President Zelensky in Rada after TV closes

According to the opposition party "Opposition Platform - For Life", President Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly "abused the voters and the country", by decree closing three national television channels, 112 Ukraine, NewwsOne and ZIK, accused of pro-Russian propaganda .

The opposition has started the impeachment procedure against President Zelensky in the Rada.

In the joint statement, the three blacked-out TVs promised to continue their work (they are now visible on YouTube), accusing President Zelensky of "political persecution of undesirable mass media".

The blacked-out channels are attributable to the leader of the opposition party "Opposition Platform - For Life", Viktor Medvedciuk, has close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin who is godfather of Medvedciuk's second child.