Mario Draghi

As the man who was credited with saving the single currency during Europe's sovereign debt crisis, Mario Draghi is now being entrusted to form not just a government of national unity but largely one of national salvation as Italy confronts its greatest existential crisis since the end of the Second World War.

Ljubljana – Prime Minister Janez Janša has congratulated Mario Draghi on becoming the new prime minister of Italy, saying he looked forward to a strengthening of relations.

“I am looking forward to further strengthening our good neighbourly relations and cooperation in many areas, both regionally, in Europe and globally,” Janša wrote on Twitter in English.

Mario Draghi, the man largely credited with saving the euro currency, took the helm as Italy's premier on Feb. 13 after assembling a government of economic experts and other technocrats along with career politicians from across the spectrum to guide the pandemic-devastated nation toward recovery.

 Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese, and Health Ministers Roberto Speranza retained their mandates in the new government formed by Mario Draghi.

Calling on former ECB chief Mario Draghi to form a coalition government may have been Italian President Sergio Mattarella's option of last resort, other than calling early elections. And Draghi, "the Italian who saved the euro," could just turn out to be "the European who saves Italy," as former prime minister Matteo Renzi, put it.

Former European bank chief Mario Draghi agreed on Feb. 3 to try to form a non-political government to steer Italy through the coronavirus pandemic after last-ditch negotiations among political parties failed to produce a viable governing coalition.

Ljubljana – The newspaper Delo says in Friday’s front-page commentary that Slovenia’s lost battles at the European Court of Justice are a defeat of the country as a whole, especially its diplomacy, politicians and legal experts.

Christine Lagarde has once again proven herself to be a worthy successor to Mario Draghi at the helm of the European Central Bank (ECB).

More than many political leaders she is aware of the critical nature of the situation created by the unprecedented epidemiological crisis and she has therefore boldly taken the necessary steps.

The decision of the European Central Bank to make an exception to the rule and offer Greece a waiver that will allow Greek paper though still not investment grade to be used as collateral for Greek banks to have access to ECB cash is an important step forward for the embattled Greek economy.

Greece's benchmark 10-year bond yield tumbled by about 50 percent on Thursday, returning to the 2 percent level from 4.1 percentage points previously, after the key move by the European Central Bank to incorporate Greece in its emergency bond-buying program.