"I swear to be loyal to the Republic," recited Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, as he stood before President Sergio Mattarella in the ornate presidential palace in a ceremony broadcast live on television. The 73-year-old, known as Super Mario for doing "whatever it takes" to save the eurozone, has put together a national unity government involving almost all Italy's political parties.

A new survey showed the former banker had the support of 62 percent of Italians. Draghi was parachuted in by President Sergio Mattarella after the Giuseppe Conte's centre-left coalition collapsed. The pandemic has left more than 93,000 people dead in Italy, and and triggered the country's deepest recession since World War II.