Can Mario Draghi save Italy's economy?

Italy's prime minister Mario Draghi hopes that his €222bn public spending plan, which includes high-speed internet, high-speed rail, and improving the energy efficiency of public buildings, will give the Italian economy a boost.

Mario Draghi
Mario Draghi is not a miracle worker
(Image credit: © Luigi Mistrulli/SIPA/Shutterstock)

Mario Draghi has a “grand plan” to transform Italy, says Hannah Roberts on Politico EU. The Italian prime minister wants to spend €222bn on a raft of projects, including rolling out high-speed internet, extending high-speed rail, “earthquake-proofing millions of homes” and improving the energy efficiency of public buildings. €191.5bn of the money will come from Next Generation EU, the EU’s landmark pandemic recovery fund. Another €30.6bn will come from extra Italian government borrowing.

The spending looks “well-targeted”, says Neil Unmack on Breakingviews. Italy badly needs to digitalise its public services, while €30bn will go towards addressing the country’s weaknesses in education and research. Italy has plenty of “catching up to do”: annual GDP growth has averaged just 0.3% over the past decade. Public debt is heading towards an eye-watering 160% of GDP. Reforming Italian governments often have “a short shelf life”.

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Markets editor

Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019. 

Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere. 

He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful. 

Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.