Italy's Political Turmoil and Mario Draghi's European Challenges

摘要

In 2021, the pace of Italy's political change has again accelerated. During the previous year, Italy was the first European country to be hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, an emergency that was faced by the second government of Giuseppe Conte, supported by the Five Star Movement (M5S), the Democratic Party (PD), a small left party, and Matteo Renzi's moderate group Italia Viva. Renzi distanced himself from the government in December 2020, leading to its fall on 13 February 2021. Mario Draghi, the widely respected former governor of the European Central Bank (ECB), was quickly called in to establish a 'national unity' government, which is now supported by all major parties with seats in key ministries - with the exception of the 'post-fascist' Fratelli d'ltalia and of the small left party Sinistra Italiana. The Draghi government was expected to be more in line with the new Biden administration in the US and with the economic and financial mainstream. Greater unity and stability was anticipated in general, but in fact, Italy's fragile political system experienced the opposite.