There is a new technocrat government in Italy!

 

I thought I would write about the colour yellow in this E-zine. 

I never knew how much I liked the colour yellow. It had never really come on my radar until Lazio moved into 'zona gialla' again on the 1st February. 

This lockdown has been quite challenging in many ways but it has really made me appreciate the small things which enrich our daily/weekly/monthly lives and break the daily monotony. For me, it's those meals out with family, friends and clients, those mid-week trips to the cinema to see a film that has been newly released or a special theatre trip because some performing artists are in town.  And I have to admit (I never thought I would ever write this) that I actually miss those kids parties when the parents lurk around at the back of the room talking and  the fathers sneak off to have a beer or a glass of wine (or 2).   Oh, and not forgetting those little trips, overseas or in Italy, that have been off the table now for sometime, but are the icing on the cake of life.  I long for the day when I can make, even short trips away, with the family and friends again. 

Anyway, enough of my Covid colour thinking.

Well, if you have missed it, there is a new technocrat government in Italy. This time under the supervision of Mario Draghi. For anyone who is unfamiliar with Mario Draghi, he is the last ex-President of the EU Central Bank, previous head of the Bank of Italy, previous economist for Goldman Sachs and has also worked at the World Bank.   If you are interested, he also has a house somewhere near Citta delle Pieve, Umbria.

What's interesting about this appointment is that he was the man who pretty much stopped the EU crisis  of 2012, merely by announcing that the 'Within our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough'.   With those words he stopped the attack on Spanish and Italian government debt, being launched at the time by the worlds financiers, and prevented a complete meltdown when Greece was also in fear of default. 

There is no doubt that 'Super Mario' (his other widely known name) is a very adept politician and economist who has the ability and knowledge to get Italy out of it's current predicament, as a result of Covid.   

It was Matteo Renzi who pulled out of the coalition which was keeping Giuseppe Conte in power and managing the Covid crisis, but Renzi being a 'supposed' pro-business politician didn't think that Conte had the ability to manage the €266 billion Recovery fund which is shortly arriving from the EU, and which will be used to help rebuild the economy.   I happen to agree (although I think Conte has done a good job of managing the pandemic in Italy) and also believe that Mario Draghi is probably the best person for the job. 

However, to what extent he will be prevented from doing so by the warring parties is anyone's guess.  He is a no nonsense economist/politican and has already made it clear that he wants to surround himself with capable people, and not politicans who are looking to advance themselves or their parties. 

I suspect he will get some new and interesting projects approved by Parliament, but like the technocrats before him (Letta and Monti), will eventually be stopped by the other political parties who will want to merely push their own agenda and take power. 

But, let's not take this step for granted because if Mario Draghi is given enough leash to enact some serious recovery plans, and real effects can be seen, then they may give him more leash than we might expect.   

My thinking is that alot of the burden will now be placed on his shoulders, and should he be able to magic the economic bunny out of the crumbling Italian economy top hat then the other political parties will quickly amass like children around a fresh birthday cake, to benefit from his good work and look to ultimately grasp power and take all the credit.

It's all to play for.  I shall be watching this one carefully. I think like most of us who have been living in Italy for quite some time, we really hope that something significant happens because we see so much potential for change. 

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