Surprise to Bank of Italy: the new governor is Ignazio Visco. Born in 1949, in Bankitalia Visco has been deputy director since 2007 and has a long career in the institute with various international positions to his credit. The decision came after a whirlwind of meetings at the end of which Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi met with President Napolitano at the Quirinal.
Visco's name has literally displaced the bookmakers called to bet on the Saccomanni – Grilli – Bini Smaghi trio, now taken for granted in the wake of the need to free up a seat on the ECB board to make way for a Frenchman in exchange for the support of Paris, already received, for the rise of Mario Draghi to the presidency of the European Central Bank. A solution that however goes in the direction, ie in the sign of continuity and independence that rewards the work of a team that over the years has gained credibility inside and outside Italy.
The choice it will also facilitate future relations between Italy and the ECB, when Draghi, at the top of the Eurotower, finds himself dealing with a man he knows well and who has followed him over the years. And the designation of Visco thus collects an informal first course green light from the Superior Council of Bank of Italy: "A valid choice", commented some sources inside the Council, which can only be officially expressed after having seen the letter from the premier, probably in an extraordinary session on Monday.
An opinion formally only consultative that of the Superior Council but which represents a delicate passage for the appointment, especially after President Napolitano has invoked a shared solution. Even the Pd expresses satisfaction: the name of Ignazio Visco meets the requirements of "authority and autonomy" necessary to lead Bankitalia, said the secretary Pier Luigi Bersani.
And the name of Visco might not displease Tremonti either, who until recently had proposed Grilli's external candidacy for Bank of Italy against Saccomanni's internal one. The Minister of Economy and Visco have in fact worked together throughout the last G20 in Paris and in the meetings in which the presence of Bank of Italy was expected, such as the recent meeting with the business world for the first phase of finalizing the next development plan.
