Draghi's pragmatism appeases Italian politics

The sensation, although the procession can go inside, is of absolute confidence. Sometimes, like a couple of weeks ago at a press conference, even having something left over. "Many times in my life I have been asked if I would be capable of something and, well, quite often I have succeeded." The Prime Minister of Italy, Mario Draghi, thus responded to the difficulty involved in agreeing with the partners of the Unity Government that he presides to undertake a tax reform with radically opposite views. But even that doesn't seem to bother him. A little over 100 days have passed since the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, handed him over to command of the country. Since then, the vaccination campaign has been channeled and important reforms have been consolidated in the Administration. But the main change, probably,has to do with the mood. "This is a pragmatic government with very precise and measurable objectives in a time of emergency," they emphasize in their team.

More information

• Draghi calls on the EU to speed up the European mechanism for the distribution of migrants

• Draghi resigns his salary as prime minister

• Mario Draghi, Prime Minister, until when?

The former president of the European Central Bank (ECB) prioritized two objectives upon his arrival: the remodeling of the European recovery plan and the vaccination campaign. For this second aspect, he put the army general Francesco Paolo Figliuolo at the head of the operation. A movement that delighted the right wing and that, beyond the aesthetics that it entails, allowed Italy to accelerate the pace and catch up with its neighbors (40% of the citizens have received a dose and 20%, also the second). For the European funds, it has constituted a complex but functional cockpit. In addition, it approved a decree to simplify the procedures of the Administration when awarding said aid: a sum of about 230.€ 1 billion in the form of a historic opportunity to abandon the patch policy on which Italy has been installed for 40 years. “The work climate and the imposed speed have helped a lot. Less noise, despite the obvious disagreements between parties, and clear objectives, ”says a senior leader of the Democratic Party (PD).

Draghi, whose communication is measured to the millimeter and supervises himself, has functioned as an antidote to the poison of the political impulses of recent years in Italy. The

pax draghiana

, as defined by the leader of the PD, Enrico Letta, has been based on balancing some of the responses to the demands of the parties and on the firmness not to give in on others. It has pleased Matteo Salvini, leader of the League, with the approach in immigration policy and taxes; to the PD with a more social discourse, to Forza Italia with a vision of the economy (the other day he publicly corrected Letta, who asked for a new inheritance tax: "It is time to give money to citizens, not to take it from them" ). But it has also absorbed some of the political tics of recent years, disarming those who had its

copyright

: he has known how to be sovereign when he has defended the interests of Italy in the European Union; and also somewhat populist when he announced -through his office- that he was resigning his salary as prime minister, leaving the original speech of the 5-Star Movement on public waste out of place.

Political scientist and polling expert Roberto D'Alimonte believes that by playing such a multifaceted role "he has neutralized the parties." “He is very careful to balance moderate positions with other more progressive ones. The Letta thing with taxes, for example, managed to stop that momentum. But in the reopening [after the restrictions due to the pandemic], however, he was closer to the conservative positions of the Minister of Health, Roberto Sperenza, than to Salvini. And with this type of movement the capacity of this Executive also grows. He is a man of great authority, perhaps the one who had the most at this time. Something that even Salvini recognizes. Not only because of competition, but because of the ability to negotiate with Europe, where it has made itself heard. And he likes that on the right ”, he points out.

If much of the secret of the economy is based on looking at the sky and knowing if it will rain, Draghi is the weatherman that Italy has been searching for decades.

The figures already speak of another Italy, leaving the European growth queue for the first time in a decade.

Bankitalia data pointed this week to a rise above 4% GDP.

A shower of public aid

The former banker showed some of his letters a year ago, when he published a long article in the

Financial Times

where he bet on strong interventionism and invited not to worry about generating debt to get out of the covid-19 crisis. It was not a bluff. As prime minister, he has opted for greater action by the State, a historical simplification of the Administration and a shower of public aid. It has not finished. Sources from the Chigi Palace confirm that this will continue to be the trend, despite the criticism. “The idea is to maintain a budgetary policy that still accompanies the country out of this strong recession. With a progressive displacement of aid towards investments. And that is something that also touches Europe. Draghi has already told his community partners that they have to be careful not to withdraw the stimulus too soon, because many problems are still there. You have to be prepared to continue helping the economy ”.

The

premier

Italian has once again strengthened the relationship with Germany and France, somewhat deteriorated in recent years. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has always seen in him a voice capable of inheriting her European leadership (last week they did a virtual face-to-face in which many wanted to see a witness pass). With French President Emmanuel Macron, there has always been a lot of esteem, but not among governments in recent times. Relations between the two countries improved a lot a month ago after the historic arrest of the escaped French members of the Red Brigades and the agreement on a common agenda for collaboration in Libya. The initial tensions with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on account of the vaccines,They have also been softening and the last health summit in Rome served to show a new tune.

Draghi is Italy's highest-rated politician and has continued to grow in polls. Some of the country's improvements may be part of the inertia of part of the work of his predecessor, Giuseppe Conte. But the feeling of the public - driven by an unusual climate of celebration in Italy every time the prime minister does something - is that the former president of the ECB has been the driving force. "It's called leadership," says a minister. “He has been himself and has not made concessions that he did not believe in. And he has achieved a good atmosphere in the Council of Ministers ”, insists this member of the Executive.

The only uncertainty generated by the security blanket that Draghi has spread in the collective spirit is the expiration of his own mandate. In February the next President of the Republic will be elected. And the man most likely to succeed Sergio Mattarella is still himself. A part of the Government partners, led by the Matteo Salvini League, will promote their candidacy for the Quirinal Palace and have already warned that this Executive will not be the one to undertake the major reforms. Ubiquity, although many of its fans were also willing to believe it, is not among its capabilities. And Italy will have to reckon with the idea of ​​a new government crisis at the beginning of next year until Draghi has cleared up that question.