"Oggi è una giornata storica per l’Europa. Italia, Francia e Germania e Romania sono venuti in Ucraina per offrire il loro sostegno incondizionato al Presidente Zelensky e al popolo ucraino." (Mario Draghi) 1/6 "L’Italia vuole l’Ucraina nell’Unione europea. E vuole che l’Ucraina abbia lo status di candidato e sosterrà questa posizione nel prossimo Consiglio europeo." (Mario Draghi) 2/6

Mario Draghi is speaking in Rimini today. It is his first meaningful speech since he left the presidency of the European Central Bank. Here are a few highlights from his intervention: #Draghi Draghi: "Economic policy must not compound the uncertainty already being caused by the pandemic and rapid change. Otherwise we will end up being controlled by uncertainty instead of us controlling it." #Draghi (2/n)

A tale of two countries 🇮🇹 (h/t @istat_it)

Deaths in March 2020 vs March 2015-9

Northern Italy +94.9%
Southern Italy +2%

(Italy +49.4%) Deaths in March 2020 vs March 2015-9 🇮🇹

Lombardy +186.5%
Emilia-Romagna +70.1%

Campania -1.9%
Sicily -2.7%

(h/t @istat_it)

Italy's death toll from Covid-19 could be severely underestimated.

The town of Nembro, near Bergamo, had 158 deaths so far this year vs 35 on average in the recent past.

Only 31 deaths were attributed to Covid-19. (@Corriere) corriere.it/politica/20_ma… This study points to a severe flaw in the global Covid-19 death count. It's impossible to track everyone who died from it. Also, there will be deaths from other illnesses which couldn't be treated properly. The measure of the true human cost of the disease will be "excess deaths"

La decisione di Conte di ieri è assolutamente dirompente. Al netto delle valutazioni scientifiche, spero il governo abbia ragionato con attenzione su dettagli e attuabilità. L’ultima cosa di cui abbiamo bisogno sono filiere essenziali interrotte per ragioni burocratiche 1/3 Abbiamo deciso di rafforzare il lockdown. Ma perché non ci sono progressi su altre questioni che gli scienziati dicono essere essenziali?
- La politica dei tamponi
- Il tracing degli infetti
- L’isolamento non in famiglia dei contagiati non gravi
- La gestione degli ospedali 2/3

As I scroll Twitter from my flat in Milan, I still see a lot of complacency around the world. Don't go out unless you have to. And when you do, keep some distance from others. The earlier you start, the less pressure on your healthcare system, the fewer the deaths. #COVID2019 Governments will take time to take effective measures. They will try to balance different interests, as they need to keep the economy going. They'll make mistakes. But with some simple steps you can make a real difference for yourself, your beloved ones, your country. #COVID2019

Il MES è uno strumento essenziale per il buon funzionamento dell’euro. La questione di fondo è se l’Italia vuole continuare a far parte della moneta unica. Il mio commento per Affari e Finanza di @repubblica. #MES Il MES supera il principio - molto caro all’ortodossia tedesca - che non ci possano essere salvataggi nella zona euro. Ed è la base del ‘whatever it takes’ della BCE che ha messo fine alla crisi dell’euro. Davvero vogliamo abolirlo? (2)

After a few weeks of negotiations Italy's new government team of the 5 Star Movement+Democrats is out. A few impressions:

Thread 👇 1/6 The 5 Star Movement outmaneuvered the Democrats in the negotiations. They keep the prime minister and the crucial job of undersecretary in the PM office (which the Democrats had wanted). 5 Star also take foreign affairs, industry, education and justice. 2/6

Blackrock has pulled out of a possible deal to rescue Carige. Watch out for the possible political storm in the making. (@Reuters) uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eur… Once again, a private solution touted for an Italian bank in trouble falls apart. Remember JPMorgan with MPS? That did not go well either. #Carige

1 - There is a lot of confusion over why Italy’s President #Mattarella chose to veto Paolo Savona as finance minister, leading to the collapse of a possible 5 Star-League government. Here’s a short thread explaining what he said last night. #Italy 2 - The main problem was Savona’s explicit support for a ‘Plan B’ to leave the euro - which he did not withdraw before receiving the nomination. This plan had to be secretive, according to a set of slides he co-authored in 2015.

Mattarella has just spoken. He confirmed the problem was over the appointment of the finance minister. He said he was open to a ‘political appointee’, not to someone who would sleepwalk Italy out of the euro. He concludes that arguing for ‘Ital-exit’ should be done openly. #Italy +++ The 5 Star Movement is now reportedly considering an impeachment of Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella.

+++ A copy of the draft 5 Star/League agreement (dated yesterday) has been leaked to @HuffPostItalia - I am going to tweet the most relevant sections. Full link below. huffingtonpost.it/2018/05/15/un-… 1) Five Star and the League expect the @ecb to forgive 250 billion euros in Italian bonds bought via quantitative easing, in order to bring down Italy's debt

Good morning all from Rome - as you can see I have opted for the large moka pot this morning. We will all need it! Here are a few thoughts on #Italianelections2018 after an extraordinary night. 1. There are two ways to look at this #ItalianElection2018. One is the electoral outcome: a badly hung parliament. The other is the political message: an anti-establishment triumph.