The sphinx who reshaped Europe Mario Draghi, the technocrat who sidelined politicians and saved the Euro, now needs them to succeed as Italy’s PM By Ben Judah If there was one soundbite, in Europe, in the last decade on which history turned, this was it. After a confusing preamble about a bumblebee that shouldn’t be able to fly, Draghi stopped reading from his script and, for 16 seconds, looked into the camera. “Within our mandate, within our mandate … the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the Euro.” He paused, adding, just to make sure: “Believe me, it will be enough.” Within minutes, the news hit the wires; billions shorting the Euro began to move in the opposite direction. Mario Draghi is now Italian prime minister. The man who “saved the Euro” has been summoned from retirement to “save Italy” from the pandemic. There is a Europe of the mind: of Beethoven, summer holidays and the smell of coffee. Then there is Europe as it actually functions today — the E
