Giulio Moretti
Giulio Moretti | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dux of La Rossa | |
| In office 15-8 35 PC – 1-7 39 PC | |
| Preceded by | Dario Silvano |
| Succeeded by | Leo Minestrici di Mineria |
| Advisor | |
| In office 7-3 33 PC – 15-8 35 PC | |
| Board Member of Banca Rossa | |
| In office 1-3 28 PC – 15-8 35 PC | |
| Appointed by | Alessandra DeGaio |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17-8 1 PC Padeno |
| Nationality | Rossan |
| Education | University of Padeno Faculty of Mathematics |
Giulio Moretti (born 17-8 1 PC) was a Dux of La Rossa, reigning during a period from 35 PC to 39 PC. Rising to power after the death of Dux Dario Silvano, he was appointed to serve out the rest of his term by the Advisory Council, of which he was part of. The Chair of Banca Rossa prior to his resignation upon becoming Dux, he was among the youngest to hold both positions. Although highly ambitious in his career, the weak economy left by his predecessor, and the weak coalition he was to govern with proved to be a great hurdle in the nation's recovery. He was the first Dux to be born in the Post-Calming era, although it is important to note that the Second Calming had not swept the island yet.
Early Life
Born at the very beginning of the Silver Crisis that swept the island in 1 PC, Giulio Moretti would come to be part of the first generation to completely live under governments born from the collapse of the old order. With most lower-class, working people for the first time being given the opportunity to rise up from poverty due to expansive welfare programs, funded by the previous aristocracy's wealth, the power-centralizing nation for the first time saw a great need for a vast and organized administrative state. Born in the vicinity of Padeno to a family of farmers, Giulio Moretti was the first in his family to be granted access to higher education. Granted tuition at the University of Padeno at the age of 16, it showed to be an irresistible opportunity, one for which he had left his parents and moved to the inner city.
While studying at the University, during the course of which he was described as bright by several of his professors, he had begun to take great interest in applied mathematics on the field of economics and business. Devising an argument in late 18 PC for the uncoupling of the nation's currency from fixed-covertible material goods (silver), his paper, publicized surprisingly quickly, argued that the measure would allow the state to engage in money creation he believed necessary for growth through investment. The value of the currency, instead of remaining static, meanwhile, would fluctuate due to market forces, decreasing with the government's printing, encouraging spending. He would receive an honorary degree at the University two years ahead of his fellow students. With the measure being implemented by the reigning Ducissa in 20 PC, following review and endorsement from several of the nation's economists (who noted similar mechanisms in place in the developed nations of the world, such as Utlia), he would find quick employment once outside of university studies. Becoming a banker in Padeno, he swiftly rose through menagerial positions due to a combination of ambition and intellect, receiving renewed attention from the Rossan state before reaching 30 years of age. His early insights would eventually be refined, and once again be published in The Modern Theory of Economics, which has served as a guide for the Rossan markets ever since.
Board of Banca Rossa
In 28 PC, Moretti was appointed to the Board of Banca Rossa, the nation's central bank, by Ducissa Alessandra DeGaio. Being offered the position after his financial prowess was noticed, the aging Ducissa was prompted to appoint him by her Advisors in response to signs of economic worry. One of six board members in charge of the bank, despite being still quite inexperienced, he became a significant part of the regulatory body keeping the nation's monetary policy under control. The economic crisis of the following years, marked by slowing growth and rising inflation, cast the effectiveness of the central bank in doubt as it proved unable to deal with the insecurity in the market.
Moretti, however, would maintain that the fault lied in the centralization of power in the hands of the Dux, whose high deficit spending, meant to keep real wages level, clashed with the reforms necessary and required to bring back stability and growth to the market. Even with the rate of the printing of currency remaining at the lowest legal amounts, just necessary to pay for the state's budget, it far outpaced the capabilities of the Banca Rossa to deal with the inflationary consequences, unable to fully offset them by restricting investor borrowing. A measure with diminishing returns, further inhibition of borrowing, Moretti stated, would have "brought the economy to a crawl". Calling for more administrative independence and an end to unilateral budgetmaking, Moretti, still on the board of the central bank, a position he could not be fired from, ran in the elections for the Advisory Council, winning in 33 PC. An ally in most fields, he became a harsh critic of the leader's fiscal policies, blaming them for a loss of confidence in the Rossan market.
Dux
Rising to power during a chaotic set of circumstances, the sudden death of his predecessor saw Moretti appointed to the throne a little more than a week after his death. Taking the reins of a struggling economy, Dux Moretti inherited the unenvious task of reviving stagnant wages and suppressing the high inflation that marked the times. Moving away from the deficit spending of Dux Silvano, which sought to offset the loss in wages with a rise in welfare, at the cost of inflation, Moretti culled spending in order to more ambitiously tackle the rise in prices, which often overshadowed growth in wages. Despite his difficult situation, during the beginning of his term, he was widely considered to be a young, reformist figure who was expected to revitalize the nation, a feeling that had almost fully subsided by the end of his second term.
Although published economic data showed that the administration's policies cooled inflation, which ran rampant during the preceding term, the slow-moving effects failed to deliver a change in the population's standards of living by the time of the 39 PC elections. He was beaten Leo Minestrici di Mineria, a member of the island's past aristocracy who campaigned heavily on opening the island up to international trade. With a rise in real wages being measured in the years following his defeat, some economists have given the short-reigning Dux credit for laying the groundwork for the growth under Dux Minestrici, although his public image remains far from such. He was the first incumbent Dux after La Denunzia to lose an election, with all the others resigning or dying in office.
| Election | Votes | Votes (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 35 PC Advisory Council Confirmation | 4 - 1 | 80% |
| 37 PC | 181,712 | 52.1% |
| 39 PC | 153,521 | 45.1% |
Later Life
After losing the election for Dux, Giulio Moretti returned to his position as a bank manager in Padeno, a position he has continued to hold. The rise in investments in the slowly-opening economy has led to the nation's banks thriving, with rises in profits, reserves, and borrowing. According to the Giornale Economico, Moretti is currently believed to hold the status of the 253rd richest Rossan on the island, rising over four hundred positions over the course of the past four years.