Italian PM hands in tactical resignation27/01/2021|1min
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has resigned in a tactical move he hopes will allow him to build a new coalition.
Prime Minister Conte survived two confidence votes but lost his governing majority in the Senate over frustrations with the government s handling of the COVID crisis.
Given Mr Conte does not belong to a political party he could attempt to form a new coalition.
Italy has suffered through several political crises and Mr Conte is the country s 66th Prime Minister in just 75 years.
Favourite
1/27/2021 6:24:11 AM GMT | By Dhwani Mehta
The Italian “Prime Minister Conte’s resignation opens a new phase, where the master of the game will be President Mattarella,” Paolo Pizzoli, Senior Economist at ING Bank noted.
Key quotes
“President Mattarella accepted his resignation, and asked him to stay for current affairs, as it normally happens.’
“We see three main options ahead. The first option which might be explored is that of a new mandate for a Conte 3.0 government.”
“We suspect that this solution would aim at coopting a new group of “willing” MPs form the ranks of pro-European moderates in the opposition under a common flag to expand the majority, but could hardly do without the support of Renzi’s Italia Viva.“
Italy PM Giuseppe Conte resigns as his coalition government becomes the latest COVID-19 casualty By Chris Livesay Italian Prime Minister Conte resigns
Rome As the coronavirus pandemic death toll soars globally, the latest victim is the Italian government. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned, sparking a political crisis while the country is deep in the throes of its COVID-19 epidemic.
Conte s center-left coalition government started to wobble last week when former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi pulled the support of his splinter party, denying Conte an absolute governing majority. Renzi had chastised Conte over his handling of the health crisis and the economic recovery plan.
New Europe spoke with Nicola Fratoianni, a member of parliament from
Sinistra Italiana, about the current political crisis. His party has confirmed their support for Conte after his government lost its absolute majority in the Senate.
New Europe (NE):
What do you expect in terms of a positive outcome for this political crisis?
Nicola Fratoianni (NF): It is possible to rule now only with parliamentarians sharing and supporting the program of this government. During this year the government was supported by a majority which underwent some modifications. In this regard, we had in the parliament the birth of the
Italia Viva political group, which was created after a split from the Democratic Party. I expect, at this very moment, clarity and wisdom. I think it was right to go into the parliament to present a proposal and see if there was a majority. There was a crystal clear majority in the Chamber, while in the Senate the majority was insufficient. In the next days, I expect that
Former prime minister Matteo Renzi yanks his party out of Government, stripping the ruling coalition of its majority and triggering political chaos, all while Italy grapples with a worsening COVID-19 epidemic.