Interview with Lucio Caracciolo, director of Limes magazine, most important geopolitical expert in Italy.

Commentary:
“Uncertainty on the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is very high. Italian GDP fell by 4.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2020. The available information suggests an even larger contraction of economic activity in the current quarter, which is expected to be particularly severe in the service sector. The timing and strength of the recovery will depend on several factors that are hard to predict: the duration and geographical spread of infection, developments in the global economy, the impact on confidence and hence on household spending and firms’ investment decisions, possible financial repercussions. They will also depend, to a significant degree, on the effectiveness of economic policies.” Note on covid, Bank of Italy.”

In February of 2021, a year after the start of the pandemia, Italy’s government was overhauled and the economist Mario Draghi former head of European bank became prime minister.

We talk to Lucio Caracciolo about the current situation in Italy and the role of government during an economic crisis.