Veteran of the Bank of Italy as Draghi’s Minister of Finance

Photographer: Roberto Monaldo / LaPresse / Bloomberg

The Bank of Italy Daniele Franco he is becoming a possible candidate to take over the country’s next finance minister, as the race intensifies over who will be the prime minister appointed by Mario Draghi to begin reviving the startling economy.

Franco, director general of the central bank, is a name that continues to appear in reference to the work of the Treasury while Draghi draws up the list of names of his cabinet, which may be revealed later this week, according to officials who asked that don’t do it. be appointed to discuss confidential conversations.

The race is still open, with former European Central Bank director Draghi about to complete a second round of talks with political parties on Tuesday evening. Draghi has not shared his plans for the cabinet during the talks, officials said.

Whoever takes over the Treasury will have the heavy task of helping Draghi oversee the management and spending of Italy’s share of the European Union’s € 209 billion ($ 253 billion) recovery fund. Added by the pandemic, the country’s economy shrank by around 9% last year, while public debt was heading towards 160% of production.

Subsequent reports

Draghi is expected to brief President Sergio Mattarella later this week to update him on the party’s support for his government and the composition of his future administration. He is also expected to choose a technocrat instead of a political figure for finance work.

Franco, 67, would comply with the bill given his experience in both the Treasury and the Bank of Italy. One could expect Franco to come into the Treasury and get the engine running instantly, said one of the officials, who immediately began work on setting up the recovery fund spending and helping businesses. In the Treasury, Franco oversaw the control of spending on EU structural funds.

The ECB’s bond purchase program has so far maintained a reduction in borrowing costs, but there are doubts about how long it can be maintained. Franco has a strong relationship with Draghi, said an official, dating back to his time at the Bank of Italy when Draghi was governor.

There are other names in the race, including Draghi himself, who could decide to take over the Treasury provisionally with two deputies by his side, or with a very strong general manager, probably Alessandro Rivera, who currently plays that role.

Other names to see

Dario Scannapieco: Since 2007 Vice President of the European Investment Bank, where Draghi was instrumental in his appointment. Scannapieco, 53, began working at the Treasury at the age of thirty and has long been seen wanting to return to a role in Rome. It was aimed at leading the state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA, officials said.

Roberto Gualtieri: If Draghi bets on a political figure instead of a technocrat, the current finance minister could continue. A member of the Democratic Party, Gualtieri, 54, is a former member of the European Parliament and, as finance minister, has approved more than 130 billion euros in stimulus to protect the economy from the coronavirus.

Lucrezia Reichlin: Professor of Economics at the London Business School, she is the first woman to be head of research at the ECB, which she did during Jean-Claude Trichet’s tenure as head of the central bank. Reichlin, 66, appeared as Draghi’s successor after he left the Bank of Italy. His research on monetary policy has focused on the ECB and the interaction between monetary policy and the behavior of banks.