Mario Draghi begins the toughest job in European politics

MARKETS HAVEECBGDP a way of bowing before Mario Draghi, who on February 13th took charge of Italy’s 68th government in 75 years. Stocks soared the moment it was reported he had been asked to become prime minister. Three days after he took office, investors flocked to a bond auction, slashing Italy’s borrowing costs. It was reminiscent of the hot days in July 2012 when Mr Draghi, then president of the European Central Bank, vowed to do “whatever it takes” to preserve the embattled euro. The bond-buying scheme the assembled to render Mr Draghi’s promise credible was never used: his words were enough to calm the financial furies.But tackling Italy’s problems demands more than rhetoric. Ravaged by the pandemic, on current projections Italy will not regain its pre-crisis until 2023. And its covid-19 woes are layered atop deeper pathologies of slow growth, low productivity and high debt that have largely defeated the efforts of successive governments. “We all know the reform priorities,” says Marco Valli, an economist at UniCredit, an Italian bank. “The question is, will Draghi be able to fast-track the badly needed ones?”