Mattarella’s spokesperson said he had asked Draghi to meet with him for talks on Wednesday with the aim of forming a “non-political” government to lead Italy during the coronavirus pandemic.
The president is widely expected to ask Draghi to take over as prime minister.
The announcement came after Italy’s ruling parties missed a deadline on Tuesday, meaning talks on potentially forming a new government out of the collapsed coalition of Giuseppe Conte had failed.
Italy was plunged into a political crisis last month when former premier Matteo Renzi’s Italia Viva party withdrew from the coalition, forcing Conte to resign as prime minister.
Mattarella had given the ruling coalition parties until Tuesday to reconcile and reform a government.
But talks failed, and the president announced on Tuesday that he would help form a “high-profile government that should not identify itself with any political formula”.
Mattarella said Italy can’t afford to suffer through a months-long campaign and early parliamentary election during a “crucial moment” of the pandemic.
Nicknamed “Super Mario,” 73-year-old Draghi was credited with playing a crucial role in saving Europe’s single currency, the euro, when he was the European Central Bank’s president.
The pandemic has devastated Italy’s long-stagnant economy and left the country with Europe’s second-highest COVID-19 death toll, with almost 90,000 lives lost so far.
