The new Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, defended structural reforms in his first speech to “offer a better and fairer country to our children and grandchildren”. Some of them, he said, “concern problems which have been open for decades, but which should not be overlooked”. The emphasis is on insecurity in regulations and public investment plans, “which limit the investment of Italians and foreigners”.
Criticized for forming a ministry with few women (8 out of 25 positions) and young politicians, he said the country needs to improve opportunities for both groups. “True gender equality does not mean respecting the quotas of women demanded by law,” he said, saying Italian women suffered from “one of the worst pay disparities in Europe”, a “chronic shortage” in leadership positions and should make equality work. conditions.
Draghi also said he would make a “strongly pro-European” government. “To support this government is to share the irreversibility of the choice of the euro and the prospect of an increasingly integrated European Union”, declared the Prime Minister – who, although his name is Super Mario precisely for its role in the preservation of the euro, in its coalition parties “strongly anti-European”.
The new prime minister’s statement comes the day after the antagonistic statement by one of the most Eurosceptic of his new allies, the populist Matteo Salvini, leader of the radical right-wing Liga party.
“Draghi said the euro is irreversible? Fortunately, only death is irreversible. The only thing that cannot be helped is the decision of the good Lord, ”he said Tuesday in an interview with Italian television.
Contradictory speeches give an idea of the dynamics of the new Italian government, based on a broad and very heterogeneous coalition, with members ranging from left to far right.
United to secure governance amid a series of economic and health crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic, they must keep their traditional rhetoric, keeping an eye on the upcoming Italian presidential election next year.
Former president of the European Central Bank, Draghi never ran for political office, but he is now Italy’s most popular public figure, with 60% approval, according to polls.
The fact that interest on loans to Italy fell after he took power shows that he is generally expected to prioritize the country’s economic reconstruction, without unorthodox adventures.
One of his first tasks will be to coordinate the takeover project for approving transfers of around 210 billion euros (R $ 1.37 tri) of post-pandemic funds from the European Union.
In his statement, he said the role of the state should be “carefully assessed” and focus on areas such as research and development, education, incentives, regulation and taxes.
His short-term priority, according to the Prime Minister, will be the fight against the pandemic – Italy has been one of the European countries hardest hit by the first wave of Covid-19 and the strict containment put in place for it. fighting is expected to lead to a drop of almost 9% of GDP in 2020. More recent data from the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) shows a drop in the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in recent weeks.
Draghi presented his new government to President Sergio Mattarella last Friday (13) and signed his inauguration on Saturday (14). This Wednesday, it should receive the Senate vote of confidence – the session is scheduled for 10 p.m. (local time, 6 p.m. in Brazil) – and, Thursday, it will be the turn of the Chamber of Deputies.
In his speech to parliamentarians, he called for unity: “Today, unity is not an option; unity is a must. But it is a duty animated by what, I am sure, unites everyone: the love of Italy ”.