Bank of Italy head could leave post early - paper

ROME (Reuters) - The governor of the Bank of Italy could leave his post in October, a year ahead of schedule, paving the way for the appointment of a successor before a general election due in the first half of next year, newspaper Il Foglio reported on Tuesday.

Ignazio Visco could step down at the central bank and allow the current government, led by former European Central Bank governor Mario Draghi, to appoint a high profile executive, such as ECB board member Fabio Panetta, the daily reported citing what it called influential sources.

The move, dubbed "operation bolts", is part of a broader plan by Draghi to "introduce as many useful bolts as possible into the mechanisms of the country" to counter any populist movements, and prevent them from influencing appointments such as this one, Il Foglio added.

The plan also includes the appointment of the heads of the Tax Revenue agency and of state-controlled companies such as oil and gas group Eni, defence company Leonardo and energy group Enel.

The mandate of Visco, who has been leading the Bank of Italy since 2011, would naturally end in October 2023.

The Bank of Italy was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Stefano Bernabei, writing by Giulia Segreti; Editing by Keith Weir)