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.
“Break a leg,” read the headline on La Stampa daily Saturday, hours ahead of Draghi and his new cabinet being sworn in under rainy skies in Rome, as a new survey showed the former banker had the support of 62 percent of Italians.
Draghi 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, a third of them women — but returns at noon Saturday to be formally sworn in at the presidential palace.
Draghi will then be presented to the upper-house Senate on Wednesday followed by the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday for a confidence vote that will give the final official blessing to his government. 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.
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.
In other news – Former UCT vice-chancellor Professor Stuart Saunders has died
Former University of Cape Town (UCT) vice-chancellor, Professor Stuart Saunders, died in his sleep on Friday, the institution said.
Saunders, aged 89, was the vice-chancellor from 1981 until 1996. He had been ill for some time. Learn more
Source: eNCA
