Like Captain Ahab searching for Moby Dick in Herman Melville’s classic 1851 whaling novel, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, who read the book this summer, feels he is still living that atmosphere. “Chasing billions of euros for the budget is like chasing the whale,” says the Italian minister of economy and finance, flashing his utterly engaging, toothy smile.
Whether the white whale represents salvation or hubris is something readers of the book, and observers of the convoluted and continuing negotiations over the Italian budget, have to decide for themselves.
