ADVERTISEMENT

Why Silvio Berlusconi Wants Draghi to Stay on as Italy Premier

Why Silvio Berlusconi Wants Draghi to Stay on as Italy Premier

Prime Minister Mario Draghi has won plaudits for leading Italy through the Covid-19 pandemic while tackling its sluggish economy, bloated bureaucracy and contentious internal politics -- and even ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi says he’s impressed.  

“The prime minister is working well,” Berlusconi said earlier this week, “but we know that the nation’s unity is temporary.” Berlusconi, who headed three governments, said he hopes Draghi will stay on until the end of his term in 2023, rather than taking over the role of president, which could be open starting early next year.

The former prime minister is as wily a politician as Italy has ever seen. Just what is he up to? It’s no secret that the 85-year-old covets the post himself, seeing it as the logical end game to his 30-year career in politics. 

Despite being long on symbolic value and short on real power, the job does matter: the president has the final say in naming prime ministers, a responsibility that has proved pivotal to the country several times. 

Incumbent Sergio Mattarella could technically sign on for a second term when his mandate expires in January, but he made headlines recently when he was seen house-hunting in Rome, a signal he intends to move out of Rome’s opulent Quirinale presidential palace. 

Draghi has been the oddsmaker’s favorite to take his place, as most observers think it unlikely the former European Central Bank president would slog through an election campaign as the head of a coalition. 

Flattery, then, may be the last card Berlusconi has to play as a blocking move, and he’s nothing if not persistent. “I feel good,” the ex-premier told Il Giornale, a Milan-based daily owned by his family. “I’ve even gone on a diet.”

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.