Mario Draghi As Savior: Broken Democracy, Italian-Style 2021-02-05
Of Italy s 58 prime ministers since World War II, you probably don t remember the name Lamberto Dini. He took office on Jan. 13, 1995, several months after uncertain general election results, as the country grappled with an ongoing corruption scandal and billionaire businessman Silvio Berlusconi s recent entry into politics. The Italian establishment had turned to Dini, a sullen-faced economist and former Bank of Italy official, to lead a new government and essentially save Italy from itself.
This week, it was the turn of another so-called Super Mario.
Mario Monti filled that role 16 years later. A financial storm had battered Italy when the economics professor and former European Commission dashed to Rome in November 2011 to be appointed senator for life, then prime minister. This week, it was the turn of another so-called Super Mario : former head of the Central Europ