Draghi clears the last hurdle: large majority for Italy's new prime minister

Draghi takes the last hurdle
Large majority for Italy's new prime minister

Italy's government crisis in the middle of the corona pandemic is over: The new prime minister also wins the second vote of confidence with a large majority. Now Mario Draghi has many problems to solve and very little time for them. The country is in deep recession.

Italy's new Prime Minister Mario Draghi is entering his first term of office with two clear votes of confidence from both chambers of parliament. In the Chamber of Deputies, 535 politicians voted for Draghi's cabinet in the evening, there were 56 no-votes, as the chamber announced. With the clear approval of the larger of two chambers of parliament, the former President of the European Central Bank (ECB) took the last formal hurdle for his government in Rome.

This ends a political crisis that Italy had blocked for weeks in the middle of the corona pandemic. The 73-year-old Draghi had already secured a solid majority in the smaller Senate on Wednesday: he received 262 yes-votes there. 40 senators voted against his new government, in which almost all parties are represented from right to left. Only the right-wing extremist Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) have announced a sharp opposition.

Draghi's new alliance is the third government in the current legislature. The next regular parliamentary elections in the country with 60 million inhabitants are planned for 2023. That means: The long-time monetary watchdog and his team do not have a lot of time to implement the ambitious reform projects he is aiming for.

New politicians demand unity

In view of the virus variants that are also widespread in Italy, the focus of the next few months is likely to be on the fight against the corona crisis. In addition, economic power in the Mediterranean country collapsed more in 2020 than in Germany, for example. The new politician Draghi first presented his political agenda in the Senate on Wednesday. This Thursday he spoke only briefly to the members of the Chamber.

Draghi repeatedly campaigned for the support of the people's representatives and called for unity in the fight against the corona pandemic. Draghi had announced a faster vaccination campaign in the Senate. He is also planning reforms in the economy, administration and the tax system. In his words, the first priority is to draw up a reliable plan to secure Italy the around 209 billion euros from the EU reconstruction fund from Brussels.

Last Saturday, Head of State Sergio Mattarella sworn in the economist and his cabinet of professional politicians and non-party experts. The previous government under Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte lost its majority in the dispute over EU aid in mid-January. Conte resigned a little later.

. (tagsToTranslate) Politics (t) Italy (t) Mario Draghi