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.
