SuperMario Draghi is back. He took to the field with his style. His words are as heavy as stones and indicate a path, perhaps the only one, to avoid making Europe end up in the earthenware vase sandwiched between the iron ones of the USA and China. From the first lines of his speech yesterday at the conference on social rights, in Le Hulpe outside Brussels, to give some preview of the report on European competitiveness, it is clear that he speaks as a statesman of the new Europe. The focal point of his speech is, in fact, the search for greater integration between the Twenty-Seven. Even at the cost of overriding the Treaties. A fundamental point. Yes, because the economy is strengthened only if politics creates the conditions for decisions to have the impact necessary to change. But what can be done if the principle of unanimous voting remains in vogue? Simple. The former Prime Minister urged not to delay responses until the next Treaty amendment: «To ensure coherence between the different political instruments, we must be able to develop a new strategic instrument for the coordination of economic policies. And if we come to the conclusion that it is not feasible, in some specific cases we should be prepared to consider moving forward with a subgroup of states, for example moving forward on the Capital Markets Union to mobilize investment.” In short, whoever is there moves forward. Anyone who doesn’t feel like it will follow later. You can’t waste time. Because only a more united Europe in terms of rules, finance and defense will be able to resist the siege of emerging economies such as China or hegemonic ones such as the United States. «Today – says the former prime minister – we invest less in digital and advanced technologies than the United States and China, even for defense, and we only have four global European technological players among the top 50 globally». We lack a strategy for how to protect our traditional industries from an unlevel global playing field caused by asymmetries in regulations, subsidies and trade policies.
In the tones of his speech the power of words. The exhortation to hurry is similar in ideological terms to the famous “Whatever it takes”. A shock to Europe on the lines of the one that saved the euro from its destruction. Faced with a world that is “changing”, the Union needs “a radical change” and to act united “like never before”. The words of the former Eurotower president also shook politics in European palaces. For many, in fact, his words were interpreted as the presentation of his candidacy for the presidency of the Commission or, alternatively, for that of the European Council. No comments but many under the radar observe how the scenario for Ursula von der Leyen’s encore is different compared to just a few months ago. President Macron has expressed his preference for an impartial Commission president, read SuperMario. Meloni, on the Draghi hypothesis, remained cautious, with no official opening for now. From Italy, however, a clear endorsement came from La Russa. «Draghi has the qualifications to aspire to any role», underlined the president of the Senate. And even those who always seem to be at odds with Brussels are ready to converge on his name. “I don’t know if he will be president but he is good, I like him” commented the Hungarian president Viktor Orban.
#radical #innovations #Tempo
2024-04-19 04:48:42
