A bilateral with the landlord, Boris Johnson, who spends words of praise for the management of the pandemic in the first months at the head of the Italian government. An interview with the French President Emmanuel Macron, with whom the agreement has always been strong, from the first day he took office in Palazzo Chigi. Mario Draghi arrives in Carbis Bay for the first G7 in the presence of prime minister. Comes alone, the only leader without a first lady alongside the Canadian president Justin Trudeau. He spoke at the first working session on the theme of economic recovery, a theme that is congenial to him. Where it promotes, with everyone agreeing on its line, “expansionary budget policies to strengthen growth”.
Johnson asks him for a new “whatever it takes”, a magic formula to get out of the crisis. The pandemic has weakened the recovery, brought even the most solid economies to their knees, but Draghi uses words marked by optimism and confidence. “This is a good period for the world economy – he says – The recovery has had a strong peak and the policies implemented during the most acute phase of the pandemic have proved to be correct. We have focused on support measures aimed at businesses and people. . Now we are focusing more and more on investment spending and less on forms of subsidies “.
For Draghi, we also need a change of pace in terms of social cohesion. “In the past, on the occasion of other crises – remarks Draghi – in our countries we have forgotten about social cohesion”, now it is a “moral duty” to avoid mistakes of the past. And growth, the former ECB number one still points out, is the best way to ensure the sustainability of public finances. Here comes the reassurance of investors and the possibility of restraining restrictive policies by central banks. For this, it is necessary to maintain a prudent fiscal policy framework over the long term.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, the queen of penalty takers, also marries the Draghi line, recognizing a “complete cultural change” that has taken place in Germany, stressing the need to invest in digitization, in strategies that make it possible to combat climate change. Optimism, trust in Draghi’s words seem to infect the big names gathered around the table. Starting with Johnson: “I want to invest, I want to start projects”, he says, embracing the Draghi line on the importance of reassuring the markets of the common will to keep debt under control. For Joe Biden “the more we can do together, the better. Let’s seize the day”, he invited the G7, urging those present to support the economy and the recovery together.
The theme of the day, here in Cornwall where the world’s greats are gathered, is the challenge launched by the President of the States to the Chinese silk road. An issue that in Italy makes the center-right discuss and warms up, when the news spreads that the former premier, Giuseppe Conte, is expected in the afternoon with Beppe Grillo at the Chinese embassy for a meeting with the landlord, Li Junhua. A meeting that will then see the sole guarantor of the M5S as the protagonist because Conte will not attend.
With respect to the China dossier, the European leaders – in a coordination meeting that saw together Charles Michel, Ursula Von der Leyen, Draghi, Macron and Merkel – substantially reaffirmed an articulated approach, because Beijing is a partner for global challenges, a economic competitor and a systemic rival. For Draghi this is a significant dossier, which could see a change of pace compared to the previous government. In the background, the agreements on the Silk Road that had worried the White House and created disagreements between the same majority forces. It is now up to the prime minister to decide whether to leave them dormant, hibernating, or whether to mix and go straight.