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Mattarella,mild-mannered president who showed muscles for EU

Mattarella,mild-mannered president who showed muscles for EU

Five govts in 7 years, beacon for Italians during pandemic

ROME, 29 January 2022, 14:46

Redazione ANSA

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A canny and wise arbiter of political disputes, staunch parliamentarian, helmsman of the post-pandemic recovery, progressive Catholic, loved by Italians for his polite and calm demeanour which marked his authoritative position as a "pater familias" and a statesman who kept an admi-rably low profile while carrying out his elevated task, Sergio Mattarella has just ended a seven year term that, in spite of his image of a man who dislikes conflict, has been one of the toughest in Italian republican history.
    He has overseen no fewer than five governments in seven years, a mark of a deep crisis in Italian politics that also affected a Europe wracked by the return of nationalism. The mild-mannered president, in fact, showed his muscles as the staunchest of pro-Europeans to combat Italy's drift into populism, going so far as to threaten the birth of Giuseppe Conte's first government backed by the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) and the nationalist League party with his determination not to place in the economy ministry a figure, the Euroskeptic Paolo Savona, who in his mind would have roiled the financial markets and brought into doubt the very existence of the Union.
    Savona, an economist sponsored by the League and also welcomed by the Euroskeptic M5S of the time, had never made a secret of his opposition to European integration. Mattarella therefore used his constitutional powers over the formation of a government and issued a stunning No that prompted the M5S to argue that he should be impeached.
    Mattarella won the battle, Savona ended up at European Affairs and the Economy portfolio went to Giovanni Tria. It was June 2018, and the president saved the legislature with a Legue-M5S coalition that would have been unimaginable a mere few weeks beforehand. It didn't last long, however.. Mattarella was forced to deal with a fresh crisis about a year later. In August 2019 Matteo Salvini's League left the government and Conte resigned, only to be given a second mandate by Mattarella and create an even more unimaginable coalition between the M5S and their long-time foes in the centre-left Democratic Party (PD).
    There was no time to even think about the outcome of the operation when Italy was hit by COVID. The pandemic forced the had of State to assume a highly delicate role of political guide for a country laid low by the virus and deafened by the wailing of ambulance sirens.
    Mattarella had no doubts on the way to proceed and, long before the political world, chose the path of rigour, science and the assumption of responsibilities. He suggested and shepherded the line of collective responsibility, explaining to Italians the reason for the very tough choices that enclosed the country in a surreal bubble. These choices were at first regarded with suspicion abroad but later followed with admiration by almost the whole of Europe. He was among the first to get vaccinated for COVID-19 and once more forgot his meekness in condemning a far-rightist raid on the offices of trade union CGIL during an anti-vax protest in Rome.
    After that his reprimands against the "irresponsibility" of the anti-vaxxers became ever more fre-quent. The pandemic did not prevent the opening of a new government crisis, with the return of major concern for the Quirinale Palace, from which he could see an Italy debilitated and wracked by the economic crisis. The collapse of Conte's second government was triggered by former premier Matteo Renzi's Italia Viva (IV) party and the premier's attempts to eke out enough sup-port for a new majority were observed silently by the president, who actually had quite different plans. Faced with the risk of early election at the height of the health emergency, Mattarella pro-duced his ace card: taking everyone by surprise, he called former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi to the Quirinale with the goal of forming an emergency national unity government. It was this move that rolled back history, showing once again that the president's anchoring to Europe was the fruit of a rational plan and not a mere matter of principle. It was at that time that the European Union had put together what Mattarella himself described as "an epochal change", and by abandoning austerity Brussels had opened the purse strings with the landmark Recovery Fund, the huge rescue plan of which Italy would be the biggest beneficiary. And who could be better than the former ECB Governor, who could have the political clout to reset the vaccine rollout and manage the over 200 billion euros in the Recovery Plan? It was with this twin mission that Mario Draghi's government was born, and only the hard right Brothers of Italy (FdI) party of Giorgia Meloni decided not to join the rest of Italy's parties in backing it.
    It has thus been a seven-year term that has been very positive despite the difficulties placed in its path. This is shown, also, by the very high approval ratings Mattarella enjoys among Italians. Mattarella can be criticized for very little. Perhaps the ledger may show an excessive caution, a lack of intervention on a few badly written decrees, the realpolitik typical of the Christian Demo-crat school he grew up in, and the air of inaccessibility shown by his using only institutional speeches to communicate. In short, nothing could be further from hearty presidency of Sandro Pertini or his predecessor "King Giorgio" Napolitano. But it certainly has been a successful presi-dency, as shown by the non-stop demands for him to stay on for a second term. Not once, but twice, and even three times Mattarella has made it clear he wants to retire from public life. But despite this, there are so many that would like the "mild-mannered president" to remain at the helm.
   

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