Can 'Super Mario' and a dose of Catholic social teachings heal Italy's ailing economy?

The year was 2013 and Mario Draghi had delivered a speech about economic policy in Munich. Head of the European Central Bank at the time, Draghi’s words carried a lot of weight. The European Union was also in a financial crisis. Several eurozone members, most notably Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain, had been either unable to repay or refinance their government debts.

Draghi delivered that important speech at the Katholische Akademie and many Catholic thinkers and economists still remember his words eight years later. Draghi stressed the importance of not separating economic concerns from morality: “Ultimately, we must be guided by a higher moral standard and a profound belief in creating an economic order that serves every person.”

Draghi — nicknamed “Super Mario” for his ability to get the job done — has been appointed Italy’s prime minister by Italian President Sergio Mattarella, ending a months-long political crisis that saw Giuseppe Conte’s fragile left-wing parliamentary coalition collapse.

This is a major political news story, of course. However, journalists also need to pay attention to the impact that Catholic social teachings have on this economist’s thinking and strategies.

Here’s some background. Conte came to power just two years ago as a compromise candidate after two ideologically opposed political parties (the right-wing Lega party headed by Matteo Salvini and leftist Five Star Movement of Luigi DiMaio) failed to garner a majority in parliament. Instead, the parties came to a power-sharing agreement and Conte was made prime minister.

Salvini left the coalition hoping he could come to power in new national elections, but left-wing parties were able to come together and maintain a majority that kept Conte in power. But Conte fell out of favor with the Viva Italia party following a squabble on how to spend European Union COVID-19 stimulus funds amid continued national lockdowns.

Enter Draghi, a 73-year-old Rome-born economist who isn’t a politician. Instead, he’s been installed to try to bring these warring parties together and put the pandemic-plagued nation back on solid economic footing.

he Tiber River cuts through Rome in the shape of a serpent, splitting the ancient city in half.

On one side is the Vatican, home to the Catholic Church with the large dome of St. Peter’s Basilica looming over the city’s skyline. Directly across from the Vatican is Palazzo Montecitorio, seat of the Italian parliament. It is a place many Italians despise because it houses bickering politicians.

These two forces, within miles of each other, yet far apart in so many other ways, could come into renewed conflict over the coming weeks.

Italy’s government was plunged into chaos this past Tuesday when the nationalist-populist coalition that had struck fear across the European establishment fell apart. It means that Italians could be going to the ballot box once again in late October. It’s also a sign of how powerful the Catholic Church remains, mostly behind the scenes, in helping to determine the country’s political outcomes.

Matteo Salvini, leader of the right-wing party known as The League, triggered the political tsunami after he abandoned the anti-establishment Five Star Movement in an effort to force a no-confidence vote and provoke new elections. Ahead of the vote, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that he was resigning, which officially brought the coalition to its knees.

The developments of the past week have left a power vacuum that will be filled either in the upcoming elections or if the Five Star Movement creates a ruling coalition with the center-left Democratic Party and several other smaller political factions. Salvini, who had served as the country’s interior minister and deputy prime minister, is pushing for a vote.

Salvini’s 40% approval rating — considered high for a country known for its very fractured political system — could very well get him elected prime minister. At the same time, traditional conservatives, led by billionaire-turned-politician Silvio Berlusconi and his Forza Italia party, have seen support eroded as voters increasingly flock to the League.

That these political parties, largely rejected by the electorate last year, want to join forces and stop the anti-immigrant League should come as no surprise. Undoubtedly, the Catholic Church will be rooting for such an outcome, favoring a French-style centrist coalition.