These are the names that Meloni is considering for the Italian economy to offer security to the EU and to the markets

The president in pectore, Giorgia Meloni, is preparing the formation of her new government, which she will constitute with the right-wing bloc, which won by a large majority in the general elections held last Sunday. In the composition of the Executive it will be possible to see the path that Meloni chooses, to transmit confidence to the European Union and to the markets. Apparently, the leader of the Brothers of Italy is looking for a prestigious figure to achieve that goal. In principle, she has a safe name: Guido Crosetto, businessman and politician of Christian Democratic origin, former Undersecretary of Defense in the last Berlusconi government. Crosetto is, in his words, like a brother to Meloni. With her, he founded, in 2012, the Brothers of Italy party and has always been her right arm, her main adviser. Crosetto will occupy a ministry, perhaps Defense, or could be the undersecretary of the Presidency of the Government, a kind of coordinator of the Executive. In the formation of the government, the fundamental key is in the Ministry of Economy, on which all eyes are focused, scrutinizing the possible candidates. Giorgia Meloni wants to offer peace of mind about her government project and program, and to achieve this she will depend a lot on the appointment she makes to the Ministry of Economy. Related News standard analysis No Italy breaks the taboo of pacts with the extreme right in the EU Enrique Serbeto The Meloni current has just won the elections in Sweden and governs in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic Transmitting that trust is urgent, as shown in the markets, because the risk premium is rising. The spread between the Italian 10-year bond and the German bond today exceeded 250 basis points, the highest figure since the last 242 basis points seen in May 2020. At the bottom of the markets’ concern, there is an issue that no Italian government, whether from the right or from the left, can avoid being very present in its government project, if it wants to transmit confidence: It is about the enormous Italian public debt of 2.7 billion euros (150% of GDP) Meloni’s wish is to have Fabio Panetta (Rome, 1959), a prestigious economist, who was director general of the Italian Central Bank (2014-2019), currently a member of the board of directors of the European Central Bank. Giorgia Meloni has had several phone calls with him, which have been repeated in recent hours, to convince him to accept the Ministry of Economy. Until now, Panetta has resisted pressure from the prime minister in pectore because his aspiration is to replace the current governor of the Italian Central Bank, Bankitalia, Ignacio Visco, whose mandate expires at the end of 2023. If, finally, Panetta does not accepted, another name that appears at the head of the list of those preferred by the Brothers of Italy to direct the Economy is Domenico Siniscalco (Turin, 68), who was director general of the Ministry of Economy and later, for a brief period (July 2004 -September 2005) was Minister of Economy, as an independent, of the Berlusconi Government. Draghi’s recommendation In his last press conference, Mario Draghi recommended to Meloni, half jokingly, half seriously, that he choose the current Economy Minister, Daniele Franco, whose management has been highly praised in general. Giorgia Meloni has ruled out that option, so as not to give an image of total continuity with the Draghi government. But in the last two months, including the electoral campaign, the leader of the Brothers of Italy has approved Draghi’s management on the most burning issues: control of public accounts, to avoid increasing the debt and avoiding the fear of the markets, stopping for this the claims of Matteo Salvini. The leader of the League asks for 30,000 million euros in public debt, for aid to families and companies in paying the electricity bill. Meloni has also embraced, in continuity with Draghi, clear international alliances, especially in following up with absolute fidelity to NATO in the war in Ukraine, with firm determination to continue with sanctions against Russia and sending weapons to kyiv; likewise, she supports the Draghi line on energy, fully backing Europe’s acting prime minister’s battle to cap gas prices. MORE INFORMATION news No The collapse of the Italian left provokes the resignation of Enrico Letta news Yes Italy in Europe: sow technocracy and you will reap populism news No Berlusconi forces Meloni to dress up his anti-European program In short, for Giorgia Meloni the time has come for the TRUE. In her first steps, as is the composition of her government, it will be possible to see the path chosen by the prime minister in pectore, compared to the two options before her to lead the country that represents the third largest economy in the euro zone: follow the project of a sovereignist right, in the style of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, or that of a liberal-Atlantist right, which means negotiating with the leaders who today lead the destinies of Europe: France and Germany, together with two other decisive institutions that they are commanded by two women: Ursula von der Leyen, in Brussels, for whom Meloni has some respect and admiration, and Christine Lagarde, at the head of the European Central Bank.


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