Merkel used against Conte, but think of Germany. Calviño towards the Eurogroup

A very broad interview, granted to some selected European newspapers that the Italian agencies immediately translated into the request from Italy Angela Merkel, to use the funds of the Mes. So much as to provoke Giuseppe Conte’s reply: “I respect Merkel, but I, Gualtieri and the government technicians are counting for Italy”. And that the Corriere della Sera relaunches with a great title on the front page: “Frost between Conte and Merkel” (of which, however, there is no trace on the website).

Looking at it with European eyes, though (see the title of Le Monde) Merkel’s concerns are very different and can be summed up in one: to prevent the European Union from sinking and bringing with it also the German economy.

The “vital” interest of the various European states, explains Merkel, is “to maintain a strong European single market and to present a united front on the international scene”. “I bet that Member States have a strong interest in focusing on commonalities.”

And so it comes to the solidarity fund or Recovery fund. “The objective of the fund – says the chancellor – is to provide help and show solidarity”: “For countries that have very high total debt, they make more sense of non-repayable aid than additional credits”. It is not a matter of kindness: “Germany is ready for a gesture of” extraordinary solidarity “in particular towards Italy and Spain” also because, she says without so many words, “by acting in this way, we act in our own interest: it is in Germany’s interest to have a strong single market ”.

On the Mes “it is up to Italy to decide: we have created the tools, everyone can use them, we have not created them to remain unused “.

Diplomatic common sense statement that is difficult to bend for the purposes of internal confrontation. But we have become used to this modality that does not look at politics for what it is naturally: today Germany cannot allow Italy to fail and therefore adopted the outstretched hand policy. What then this line can change is in the order of things and therefore those who do not trust to adhere to the Mes loan and to the treaties that support it do well.

It must also be said, finally, that in the interview Angela Merkel offers her full support for the candidacy of the Spanish Nadia Calviño to the presidency of the Eurogroup after that Mario Rye became president of the Central Bank of the Portugal: “German support is no secret.” This appointment will be very important because it will measure the state of relations between the Eurogroup countries. Nadia Calviño, economy minister and third vice president of the Spanish government, according to the newspaper The world which has collected a dozen European and diplomatic sources from Brussels, The Hague, Berlin and Paris, is considered the best option to take over the presidency of the Eurogroup.

To reinforce the chances of his appointment is that this would not affect the political balance of the institutions since it would reap the legacy of the Centenian socialist. In addition to Nadia Calviño, Centeno’s successors also include the names of the Luxembourgish, Pierre Gramegna, and Irish, Paschal Donohoe. According to some EU sources, the appointment of the Finnish Tuomas Saarenheimo driving theEuroworking group will allow the presidency of the Eurogroup to rest with a representative of the countries of Southern Europe.

France and Germany should therefore support Calviño, keeping intact the current balance between party groups and the regions of Europe in the division of the main EU positions even if Spain also indicated the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

From Italy, so far there have been no official indications, but Calviño will certainly count, as far as we learn, too on the support of the Minister of Economy, Roberto Gualtieri, member of the Eurogroup.

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