The attempt to involve former Prime Minister Draghi in the political controversy (but he wants to stay out) – Corriere.it

Everyone expects Mario Draghi to react and say something about the node of the Pnrr, around which the government risks becoming entangled. It won’t go like this. The former prime minister does not intend to play the game of controversy. And the people who lived with him the experience of the cabinet of broad understandings describe him as annoyed by the attempt – which is in progress – to exploit him, to drag him into the political conflict to use him as a cudgel against the current executive. And to refute the thesis that there is some rust with Giorgia Meloni, it is said that he indulged in one of his proverbial jokes: But if there wasn’t even any damnatio memoriaewhich is typical of managers when they take over the management of a company….

Stay away from disputes between parties does not mean that the former president of the ECB fails to follow the situation, and to understand how Palazzo Chigi will move to overcome the bend that appears in front of him on the Plan. The delay on the roadmap has led government representatives to point the finger at Brussels, guilty in their eyes of having taken a different attitude towards Rome than the one it had in Draghi’s time. These are energies that should rather be concentrated on the implementation of the steps linked to the Pnrr. And the personalities who have had the opportunity to speak with Draghi claim that he is confident in the premier’s work.

Also because there is no conspiracy in Europe against Italy: the relationship between Meloni and Ursula von der Leyen is excellent and that with the rest of the Commission is very good. Also the result of the work done in recent months by the head of government, who managed to dispel doubts and distrust, moreover following a path already traced. And since Draghi has first-hand sources, his interlocutors have no doubts that this is the case. Rather, it cannot be ruled out that in the bureaucratic structure of the Union – used to managing relations with Italy through the Democratic Party – some reluctance lurks. But there are no signs of hostility towards Palazzo Chigi at the top of the EU.

Then there is no need to dramatize. The problem is not the month late. After all, as Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said, a similar decision was also taken for other European countries. Therefore, according to the judgment reported by men close to the former governor, the important thing is that the program is carried out. Because those funds guaranteed by the Union are well worth the wait. And if the Plan needs to be changed – for reasons that Giancarlo Giorgetti had anticipated when he was still Draghi’s minister – a truth operation would not find the former prime minister unprepared. How long ago he had recalled the context in which the Pnrr was born: the profound revision of the text written by Giuseppe Conte took place in extremis and was made taking into account the fact that in the majority there were also the grillini …

With the advent of the Meloni government, governance has been redesigned. And with the centralization of controls, responsibilities have become centralized. And to Raffaele Fitto that the premier has delegated the onerous task. It is not known whether Draghi knows the minister for European affairs, but it is certain that he knew his father, Salvatore, who was president of Puglia. The change in governance today requires a strong technostructure, which knows how to interact with national and European institutions. The recoverable situation. If anything, the most difficult phase will come from June, when the commitments signed with Brussels will add up to the realization of the projects. That is, the reforms. Those familiar with the former president of the ECB explain: The prime minister has already cut her teeth. Now you have to accelerate, knowing that you will have to handle the difficulties in your majority of yourself.

For the government and in the interest of the country, what matters now is Palazzo Chigi calmly manage the mediation with Brussels, without looking for scapegoats and offering reassurances to have as many in return. In Rome however – it is underlined – with two hundred billion at stake until 2026, it is clear that the political confrontation will increase in intensity. But Draghi won’t let himself be drawn into the fray.