When the going gets tough, Italy calls in the technocrats
In the whirlwind of Italian politics, prime ministers come and go with dizzying frequency — on average about once every 14 months over the last 75 years.
However, the job has not always been left to politicians: since the 1990s, it has become established practice to call on unelected outsiders at times of national crisis.
Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank, was tasked on Wednesday with forming a government after weeks of squabbling within Italy’s ruling parties.
“Every 10 to 15 years we inevitably end up in the hands of technocrats,” Lorenzo Castellani, a political scientist from Rome’s Luiss University, said.
“Every now and then, we need a shock to jolt the country back on track,” he added. “It’s as if the country needs this kind of solution to address its weaknesses.”
THE FIRST TECHNOCRATIC PM
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, a former central banker like Draghi, was Italy’s first technocratic premier, leading a cabinet of experts that also featured a few professional politicians.
He was in charge between 1993 and 1994.
At the time, the country was gripped by the “Clean Hands” nationwide corruption scandal, which was wiping out the political parties that had ruled since World War II.
Italy was also struggling with a crippling recession and was under threat from a deadly bombing campaign orchestrated by the Sicilian Mafia.
Ciampi was eventually replaced by Silvio Berlusconi after the media mogul won his first general election in 1994, but he remained in politics and became Italy’s president in 1999.
Lamberto Dini, another central banker, came into power in 1995 after the collapse of the first Berlusconi government, and stayed for about a year. He also remained in politics, notably as foreign minister during 1996-2001.
MONTI’S PRECEDENT
Mario Monti, economics professor and former EU commissioner, led the most recent technocratic government, from late 2011 to mid-2013.
He had perhaps the hardest task of all, picking up the reins of government as Italy’s near bankruptcy risked bringing down the entire eurozone.
Leading a national unity administration, Monti shored up the country’s finances with painful austerity measures, and despite that, he was initially popular.
His ensuing political career was a failure, as the centrist party he founded to run in the 2013 general elections flopped.
He still has a seat in parliament, as a lifetime senator.
MARIO DRAGHI, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, IS TASKED WITH FORMING A GOVERNMENT AFTER WEEKS OF SQUABBLING WITHIN ITALY’S RULING PARTIES
DRAGHI THE SAVIOUR?
Draghi’s task is expected to be twofold: drag Italy out of the coronavirus pandemic, and revive its battered economy with the help of a massive injection of EU money.
Italy is banking on receiving the lion’s share of the EU’S post-virus recovery fund — around 200 billion euros — but needs to submit a credible spending plan to Brussels.