Former premier Matteo Renzi brought Draghi to power in Italy in 2021. Now he wants to do the same for Europe.
Matteo Renzi has a dream: An Italian centrist will take over one of the EU’s most powerful jobs as president of the European Council.
Following an announcement that the incumbent, Charles Michel, plans to run in the European Parliament elections in June, an urgent search is now underway to identify his replacement.
In a video interview with POLITICO, Renzi, the former Italian prime minister, said Michel’s successor chairing EU leaders’ summits should be a centrist. They should also have served their country — preferably Italy — as prime minister, he added.
The famously self-assured Florentine sounded like he was applying for the job himself. But after a pause for dramatic effect, he laughed and revealed the candidate he had in mind: Mario Draghi.
Draghi is a former president of the European Central Bank, famously credited with having saved the euro. He is already back in the thick of EU politics working on an official Brussels plan to make the bloc more competitive. The 76-year-old served as leader of a broad-based Italian coalition until it broke apart in 2022 and his name often comes up when leadership roles in international affairs fall vacant.
Renzi likes to take the credit for ushering Draghi to power in Italy in 2021, by bringing down Giuseppe Conte’s government in a series of Machiavellian plot twists. Now he wants to do the same for Europe.
POLITICO
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