Report by by Tanya Singh:
The Italian president swore in the former chief of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, as prime minister on Saturday at the head of a unity government called on to confront the coronavirus crisis and economic slump.
“I swear to be loyal to the Republic,” recited Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, as he stood before President Sergio Mattarella in the ornate presidential palace in a ceremony broadcast live on television.
The 73-year-old, known as Super Mario for doing “whatever it takes” to save the eurozone, has put together a national unity government involving almost all Italy’s political parties.
A new survey showed the former banker had the support of 62 percent of Italians.Draghi was parachuted in by President Sergio Mattarella after the Giuseppe Conte’s centre-left coalition collapsed.The pandemic has left more than 93,000 people dead in Italy, and and triggered the country’s deepest recession since World War II.
Draghi has spent the last 10 days assembling a broad-based coalition and on Friday night formally accepted the post of prime minister in a meeting with Mattarella.