top of the monument to victor emmanuel ii in rome. central to his economic agenda was a tireless commitment to reducing customs barriers ( achieved via a series of bilateral treaties ) and integrating markets, in the belief ( not only in principle but also based on his extensive experience as a farmer ( that competition was the key driver of greater production efficiency and technological progress. pragmatism and ideology he was above all a man of action in the highest sense, seeking concrete results and intent on aims that were ambitious but attainable. impervious to all forms of doctrinal fundamentalism, as a liberal he assigned the state the task of making a crucial contribution to the creation of the communication infrastructures necessary for development, above all the railways, which at the time were at the frontier, if not the very symbol, of technical progress. in the same vein, he defended the principle of state - funded support for the poor, to the extent that this did not reduce the incentives for workers to take up employment. in the field of credit, he strengthened the banca nazionale ( from which origins the banca d ’ italia later emerged ), with the aim of forming the basis of the credit system and the state bank. he was only partly successful, owing to opposition from proponents of the principle of pure liberalism who favoured competition between banks of issue, and whose ranks included the leading italian economist of the time, the sicilian francesco ferrara. in this context, his main objective was to bring about reform of the economic system, or, as we would call it today, structural reform. in the underdeveloped conditions prevailing in the kingdom of sardinia in the mid - nineteenth century, this was no easy task, not least given the opposition from a strong conservative front. he was greatly helped by the classical english culture of economics and his interest in administration, both of which he grasped to a degree virtually unheard of in italian intellectuals of the day, almost all of whom were of a literary and humanist vocation. his political language is also to be remembered : he countered the “ madmen of the rally ” with words extolling preparation and good administration as features essential to the achievement of desired results. in 1852 he brought about a radical reform of the state ’ s financial administration and accounts, which would subsequently form the basis of the legislation in this area in unified italy. europe his goal was for italy to be united and independent, mainly because he saw unity and independence as essential features of progress and civil

mario draghi : cavour prize 2016 - commemoration speech by mr mario draghi, president of the european central bank, on the occasion of the awarding of the premio camillo cavour 2016, santena, 23 january 2017. * * * it may be true that “ history is not the judge of anything that concerns us " 1, as montale reminds us. but, in thanking you for this prestigious award, made even more distinguished by those who received this prize before me, if i may recall some features of cavour ’ s actions, there are obvious similarities between what happened all that time ago and the circumstances that have continued to repeat themselves throughout italy ’ s history, right up to today. difficulties in adopting a majority government just a few years after his sudden death, in june 1861, cavour became a reference point in the debate taking place in the country at that time, either in a spirit of nostalgia for an italy that could have been, but without him was not, or in a spirit of criticism, as one of the causes of the birth of an italy that was unified on the ashes of a possible democratic revolution. just a few years ago the cavourian “ connubio ” 2 was identified as one of the origins of the country ’ s structural problem of having to live with political competition between opposing sides in a context of alternating governments, if not precisely the starting point of trasformismo, which has been recurrent throughout italian history. especially when there is widespread instability, be it at national or international level, it is necessary to have leadership which holds firmly onto the power of political initiative. but this views the involvement of other political groups and other governments as actions of strength and not as unproductive power - sharing. cavour was active in a period of sudden destabilisation in europe as a result of the 1848 revolutions that had overturned the balance of powers determined by the congress of vienna following the fall of the napoleonic empire. it was a period of turbulent transition, in which great opportunities, which came with great risk, were opening up for the main players in european politics. today, we are again in a period of history in which europe is changing, following the dissolution of the soviet bloc, the reunification of germany, the effects of the sovereign debt crisis in the euro area, the united kingdom ’ s exit from the european union and geopolitical tensions in eastern europe. in other words, today like then, it