There is often discussion about what populism is and whether this term is appropriate to describe the new, very threatening movements that are appearing in many Western countries. What is certain is that, thinking of a great servant of the state like Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, it is natural to take him as an example of everything that is antithetical to populism, in terms of content and style. Nor could he be accused of being an "exponent of the establishment", since he dreamed of an Italy very different from the one in which he lived. Ciampi was above all a reformer. But the changes he dreamed of, and which he partly helped to bring about, were at the antipodes of the changes that, confusedly, the movements we now call populist seem to wish for.
Above all, he strongly believed in Europe and actively contributed to the construction of the Economic and Monetary Union, in the deep conviction that it served to modernize Italy as well as to build a more solid future of peace for the European peoples. Beyond the objective limits of European construction and policies, of which Ciampi was well aware, today Europe is targeted by movements that recognize legitimacy only to the nation-states that we have inherited from the XNUMXth century.
The reality is that forms of nationalism, and in some cases of regionalism, are making a strong comeback, fanning the flames of fear by tending to attack and denigrate all those who are different - or even simply other - from us. It is said that Europe does not have democratic legitimacy, which captures a slice of the truth, but in reality often one only wants to understand that only the decisions taken by individual nations are legitimate: it is a step backwards.
On several occasions, Ciampi also found himself having to face very tough positions on the part of the leading state of Europe, Germany. In September 1992, the Bundesbank stopped supporting the lira exchange rate, which forced us first into a substantial realignment and then, three days later, out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. For Ciampi this was a crushing defeat, since the stability of the exchange rate within the EMS was one of the pillars of his policy and that of all the Governments that had succeeded one another at the helm of Italy during the long period of his governorship in the Bank of Italy.
Among his collaborators, and I among them, feelings of strong hostility towards the German authorities manifested themselves, especially after a statement by the governor of the Bundesbank which made it clear to the markets that the fate of the lira was sealed: we all had a great desire for revenge. I don't know what Ciampi thought to himself, but I know that with great calm he made us understand Germany's reasons and the futility of somewhat hostile actions towards that country. A lesson in temper and style.
The same happened at the end of July 1993, when very strong tensions arose between European governments and not only between central banks around the question of the speculative attack against the French franc. Ciampi was Prime Minister at that time, but he kept in constant contact with the Italian delegation in Brussels and in the end he gave us the indication to accept the compromise solution which was painstakingly found, that of the EMS with fluctuation bands of no less than 30 points. Equally tense were the conditions in which, between 96 and 98, he negotiated Italy's entry into the single currency from its inception.
The other issue on which Ciampi spent a good part of his energies, especially as Minister of the Treasury in the second half of the 90s, is that of the consolidation of the public finances: on this too his ideas and his actions are at the antipodes of populism. Populists loudly complain about the high public debt and accuse, with some justification, the ruling classes of having left a heavy burden on today's youth. But not only do they not propose solutions, but they disdainfully reject the only possible remedies: primary surpluses – that is, those left by Ciampi in the late 90s – and structural reforms for the competitiveness of businesses.
Ciampi, finally, was at the antipodes of populism also in style. Before speaking, for example, he thought: an old habit that is no longer very popular. In January 1993, she called some of her collaborators to invite them to start studies for the May annual report. We were a little surprised, it seemed early, but we got to work. Those final considerations never saw the light, because in the meantime the President of the Republic had called Ciampi to form the Government after the fall of Amato. That episode convinced us that there was also something good in the political ruling class of the time. Not all of Italy at the time was to be thrown away.
On each of these occasions, in each of these little anecdotes, Ciampi's distinctive trait was that of always being able to see the reasons of others, with humility and wit, drawing a pragmatic and balanced synthesis: this helped him to maintain that credibility in the absence of which Italy would hardly have managed to be part of the leading group of the Euro. The single currency, perhaps even more than Europe, is the object of hostility from today's populists. There is a certain "conspiracy" theory according to which Germany forced us to join the Euro in the name of its national interests. Supporters of these fantasies should re-read the things said and written about by Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. Among the many nonsense that circulate in Italy this is one of the most imaginative and far from reality.
