Can ‘super’ Mario Draghi save Italy from itself?

In the aftermath of the financial crash, two ‘Super Marios’ came to Italy’s rescue. Mario Draghi, then president of the European Central Bank, and Mario Monti, an economics don turned politician, both helped steady the ship. Now, more than a decade on, one of those Marios is back. But is he the man Italy needs in its hour of need?

Draghi, who is set to become Italy’s new prime minister, has followed a well-trodden path to this moment. Like Monti, he has worked in academia and is a Goldman Sachs alumnus with a stellar EU career on his back. It all sounds very familiar. But can Draghi avoid the fate of the other Mario and ensure that Italians don’t quickly turn against him?

Pundits in Italy often point out that Draghi is ‘more political’ than Monti, by which they mean he’s well-versed in Italy’s political shenanigans. After all, the Rome-bred Draghi is a veteran mandarin: he cut his teeth working in the ministry of finance in the early 1990s, and served as permanent secretary to the Treasury under seven different prime ministers.