What next for Italy and the EU after Mario Draghi’s departure?

Italian politics has always resembled something between a tragedy and a farce, said Antonio Polito in Corriere della Sera (Milan). No sooner do our leaders take office, it seems, than they start to “self-destruct”. But when Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank, was installed as prime minister at the head of a government of national unity early last year, many hoped that the appointment of “the most illustrious Italian” ever to take the role could herald a break with the past.

Alas, the circus of Italian politics “overwhelms even the best”. Last week, Draghi tendered his resignation to the president, Sergio Mattarella, who accepted it at the second time of asking after the PM lost the backing of the populist Five Star Movement, Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, and Matteo Salvini’s hard-right League.

Draghi got a rousing send-off in parliament (“Thanks,” he said in response. “Even central bankers have a heart.”). But the applause couldn’t hide the fact that Italy now faces yet another self-made political crisis.

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Draghi’s enforced departure will leave Italy “weaker and more vulnerable”, said Maurizio Molinari in La Repubblica (Rome). “Super Mario”, as he is known, had successfully pursued a reformist agenda in his 17 months in office. He adeptly steered Italy through the latter stages of the pandemic and was on track to secure hefty EU Covid recovery grants.

Now, Italy’s chances of accessing those grants – which are conditional on economic and administrative reforms – are at risk, said Marcello Sorgi in La Stampa (Turin). The “populist” parties that ended Draghi’s premiership ignored the PM’s “words of truth”. Instead, they decided that their own interests lay in forcing elections, which are due by late September; polls suggest they are likely to result in a government led by the far-right Brothers of Italy. Their behaviour is “disgraceful”.

Ultimately, Draghi couldn’t raise sufficient support, said La Notizia (Rome) – for his vast s26bn cost-of-living package, for his determination to send arms to Ukraine. So he had to go. That’s what happens in a democracy. His departure is “a shock for all of Europe”, said Le Monde (Paris). His sensible governance restored Italy’s credibility in Brussels, and he was a trusted ally during the war in Ukraine. And without him, Italy looks more likely to succumb to a major debt crisis.

Alas, Draghi’s demise “robs the EU of one of its most experienced leaders and a giant of European economics”, said Hannah Roberts on Politico (Brussels) – just when he was most needed.