In this interview excerpt, Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul, General Secretary of the ‘Notre Europe’ think tank from 2004 to 2011 and political analyst at the European Commission Representation in France since 2011, discusses how Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa combined his role as Italian Minister for the Economy and Finance from 2006 to 2008 with his position as Chairman of Notre Europe during the same period.