Bank of Italy, the Berlusconi-Draghi pact paves the way for the appointment of Saccomanni as Governor

"It was my duty to inform the Head of State." In an interview released today to "la Repubblica", the secretary of the Democratic Party, Pierluigi Bersani, does not deny at all the role he has played in the last few days in the delicate match for the succession of Mario Draghi at the helm of the Bank of Italy and confirms that he had informed Giorgio Napolitano of what was happening. "I thought it correct - Bersani declared - to make sure that the President of the Republic, as a relevant party, was aware of this attempt which goes beyond all imagination". Bersani refers to the blitz attempt led by the Minister of Economy, Giulio Tremonti, to bring the director general of the Treasury, Vittorio Grilli, to the top of Via Nazionale. Hypothesis that both Napolitano and Berlusconi did not like and that they have perhaps stopped permanently.
The prime minister, who with Tremonti has only made a truce for the use of the markets, has never shown that he particularly appreciates the solution concocted by the economy minister for Via Nazionale but - this seems to be the real novelty of recent days - he has realized that , if he wants to manage the financial emergency, he absolutely needs the man who has led the Bank of Italy up to now and who from November will become the new president of the ECB, Mario Draghi, unanimously esteemed in Europe and in the world and credible even in the eyes of the markets. On the other hand, precisely on the occasion of the preparation of the August XNUMX maneuver, the Governor met several times with Berlusconi and was generous with advice. Precisely because of the delicacy of the moment and the independence and authority of the internal candidates that Via Nazionale is able to field - first of all the general manager Fabrizio Saccomanni - Draghi has repeatedly called the attention of both Berlusconi and by Napolitano on the opportunity to ensure the most complete continuity of the Bank of Italy's action by promoting the current number two to the top. In the last few hours it seems that Berlusconi has finally convinced himself, thus proving Draghi right and cutting the road to Tremonti's clumsy attempt.
Nobody denies that Grilli has the technical requisites to assume high positions but he has 4 handicaps, one bigger than the other, which cannot be overlooked:
1) in the first place, his appointment would be perceived by the international markets and institutions as an attempt by the Government to undermine the independence of the Bank of Italy by arbitrarily and uselessly mortifying the excellent team that collaborated with Draghi in the success and recovery of credibility of Via Nazionale after the disasters of Fazio;
2) secondly, Grilli is considered Tremonti's main collaborator and, as such, he bears the merit of having defended the public finances from the onslaught of the political and parliamentary jungle but also the - very serious - fault of having completely underestimated the signs of a new crisis and not having activated all the necessary tools not only to keep public finances in order but also to relaunch growth, without which it is pure utopia to think of reducing the very heavy Italian public debt;
3) the very type of collaboration that Grilli underwent or accepted with Tremonti certainly does not exalt his courage and independence: Draghi behaved quite differently with ministers and politicians when he was director general of the Treasury;
4) changing an essential pawn such as the director general of the Treasury at this moment has the same contraindications as a turnaround in the Bank of Italy: with the storm on the markets and affecting Italy in the first place, this is not the case of useless earthquakes, especially when they are not necessary and when continuity can guarantee better guidance in the Bank of Italy.