ROME (Reuters) – Media reports saying Italian President Sergio Mattarella had contacted ex-European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi are groundless, a source in the president’s office said, adding there had been no contact since a political crisis started.
La Stampa newspaper reported on Sunday that Draghi had been sounded out by both Mattarella and former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who triggered the crisis by withdrawing his tiny Italia Viva party from the ruling coalition.
The daily said Renzi wanted Draghi to replace Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to solve the crisis, which has brought down the government in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; Writing by Francesca Landini; Editing by Catherine Evans)
