It’s Monti Time

“Can this man save Europe?“, si chiede Time nel suo prossimo numero (edizione europea e asiatica) di febbraio. This man, per il settimanale americano, è il premier italiano Mario Monti, a capo del governo tecnico dopo le dimissioni di Silvio Berlusconi. E ora, dopo averlo già fatto sul piano politico, pronto anche a scalzarlo dalle cover del magazine a stelle e strisce.

At first glance, it seems impossible that the fate of the world economy rests in Mario Monti’s hands. The Prime Minister of Italy has the aura of a gentlemanly grandfather — the polite demeanor, the soft voice, the smiling eyes — not the tough taskmaster Italy so desperately needs to escape its dangerous and protracted debt crisis. Monti, 68, speaks in the long, precise, jargon-laden sentences of an academic economist, which he was only four months ago. He does not employ the emotional flourishes or rousing rhetoric of a typical politician.