The former president of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi has sworn his position this Saturday as the new Italian Prime Minister and successor to Giuseppe Conte after the collapse of the previous government coalition due to disputes over the use of European Union funds to recover from the crisis generated for the pandemic.
“I swear to be loyal to the Republic and to faithfully observe the Constitution and the laws and exercise my functions in the exclusive interest of the Nation,” proclaimed Draghi in the Quirinal Palace before the President of Italy, Sergio Matarella.
One of the first reactions has been that of the senator and former Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi. “Today the new Government is sworn in and a long government crisis ends. Let’s face it: it is a great step forward. Today is a truly beautiful day for all Italians,” he has stated on his social networks.
At the end of the oath, the first Council of Ministers is scheduled to be held. But first, at 1:00 p.m., the formal ceremony of the handover of powers and the handing over of the baton between Conte and Draghi will take place, at Palazzo Chigi.
The Quirinal has added that Mattarella has already signed the respective decrees to authorize the formation of the new government, which consists of 23 ministers, 15 men and eight women with technical and political profiles.
Six of the current ministers will retain their portfolios, including the Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luigi Di Maio, or the Minister of the Interior, Luciana Lamorgese. As for the technicians, it is worth mentioning the Constitutional Court judge Marta Cartabia, who will assume the Justice portfolio, or the general director of the Bank of Italy, Daniele Franco, who will go to Economy.
The executive of the former president of the European Central Bank (ECB) also has some news. The Italian press highlights the names of physicist Roberto Cingolani, who will assume the Ministry of Ecological Transition; that of the businessman and executive editor of the Vodafone Group, who will go to Transición Digital, Vittorio Colao; or the Ministry of Tourism, which Massimo Garavaglia, of the Northern League party, will assume.
The future Italian Prime Minister has included in his government ministers from the other parties that support him, in addition to the League: the 5 Star Movement (M5S), the Democratic Party (PD), Free and Equal, Italia Viva and Forza Italia .
Draghi will then meet with the president of the Senate, Elisabetta Casellati, and with the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Roberto Fico. Finally, he will meet with the outgoing Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte. The new government will go through confidence issues in the Senate and House on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Giuseppe Conte’s coalition government collapsed due to division within the ruling coalition – made up of Italia Viva, the M5S and the PD – after discrepancies over the fate of European recovery funds overwhelmed patience. of the leader of Italia Viva, Matteo Renzi, who decided on January 13 to break the alliance and remove his two ministers. The Conte government was thus in the minority.
Mattarella’s first option was the formation of a new government with the parties that supported Conte, but the attempts failed. Mattarella later commissioned Draghi to form a technocratic government, as happened in 2011 with Mario Monti.
