Johnson Defers to Draghi on Economy at First G-7 Summit Session

(Bloomberg) -- When Group of Seven leaders got down to business on the economy at their first summit session on Friday, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson swiftly ceded the floor to Mario Draghi.

“Mario, I remember being in a seminar where you saved the euro in the middle of a crisis with one phrase,” Johnson said by way of introduction to the Italian prime minister at the closed-door session in Cornwall in southwest England. “Tell us about your perspective.”

Draghi, who had a key role through the European financial crisis as head of the European Central Bank, urged his cohort to think about a strategy for the medium and longer-term to avoid any adverse market reactions that could jeopardize the kind of spending they were carrying out, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

A consensus emerged around that fiscal point, the person said, including support from U.S. President Joe Biden, who spoke about his proposals to hike corporation tax.

Read more: Draghi Will Find Out If He Has What It Takes to Save Italy’s Poor South

Another person familiar with the discussions said Draghi’s statement impressed other leaders, in particular due to his fiscal policy experience. His intervention was one of the more impactful of the group.

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