MILAN (Reuters Breakingviews) - Mr. Whatever It Takes is back. Italian President Sergio Mattarella is set to ask Mario Draghi to lead a new government through the pandemic. Picking the former European Central Bank boss matters well beyond Italy’s borders. His credibility and skills can ensure that 209 billion euros of European Union-backed funds earmarked for Italy’s economic recovery are spent wisely. As premier, Draghi could come to the rescue of Europe’s 750 billion euro project to repair the pandemic hit through loans and grants funded by mutually guaranteed EU debt. The plan is as close as the 27-nation bloc comes to first U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton’s historic decision to turn individual debts of rebellious colonies into federal obligations. Under Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, however, Italy struggled to put together a detailed plan on how to use EU funds to make the country greener, more digitally savvy and more competitive. This triggered a clash within Italy’s ruling centre-left coalition, forcing Conte to resign last week. After a week of fruitless consultations to form a new political majority, Mattarella pulled the trigger and called up the unelected hero of the sovereign debt crisis - Draghi. ADVERTISEMENT Italy’s successful recovery is critical to Europe. The EU’s third-largest economy contracted by nearly 9% in 2020. Its already high public debt is likely to balloon to 170% of gross domestic product due to Covid-19. Putting Draghi at the helm of Italy’s next government would reassure investors and EU partners: He proved his troubleshooting skills by saving the euro in 2012 through pragmatic and innovative measures. He is best equipped to guide the euro zone’s problem child out of this new crisis. Draghi still needs broad backing within Italy’s unruly legislature. That’s not a given: the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, the largest political force in parliament, sees the one-time Goldman Sachs banker as its nemesis and may not support him. ADVERTISEMENT To woo Italy’s parties, Draghi may need to bring in some politicians. A cabinet stuffed with technocrats, like the one a predecessor, Mario Monti, led during the sovereign debt crisis would be politically vulnerable and might precipitate early elections, creating paralysis. But if Draghi can surmount the domestic political challenges to put Italy on a solid path out of the crisis, with effective oversight of the wall of money coming from Brussels, he just might save the European experiment for a second time. BREAKINGVIEWS Reuters Breakingviews is the world"s leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day. A global team of about 30 correspondents in New York, London, Hong Kong and other major cities provides expert analysis in real time. Sign up for a free trial of our full service at https://www.breakingviews.com/trial and follow us on Twitter @Breakingviews and at www.breakingviews.com. All opinions expressed are those of the authors. MORE FROM REUTERS