Draghi must not resign
Italy sinks into government chaos
07/14/2022, 10:24 p.m
The coalition in Italy is crumbling: Prime Minister Draghi wants to quit, but President Mattarella won’t allow it. The former ECB chief must now find a solution so that the political chaos does not exacerbate the tense situation over the ongoing drought and Russian gas dependence.
Italy’s government is in a serious political crisis amidst an emergency caused by drought and energy worries in the wake of the Ukraine war. Prime Minister Mario Draghi submitted his resignation to Head of State Sergio Mattarella. “The majority of national unity that has supported this government since it was founded no longer exists,” the 74-year-old former head of the European Central Bank said in front of his cabinet. Mattarella refused Draghi’s resignation. Instead, the non-party economist is to report to Parliament next Wednesday and assess the situation.
Draghi will have to explore whether he can continue to govern with a majority that supports him. “Mattarella attaches great importance to the stability of the country. He would like to use gentle conviction to force Draghi to get a smaller majority in parliament,” said ntv reporter Udo Gümpel in Rome. Even without the 5 Star Movement, the majority in Parliament still supports Draghi.
The Social Democrats and center parties such as the Italia Viva of ex-Prime Minister Matteo Renzi have already pledged their support. Giorgia Meloni’s far-right opposition party Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy), on the other hand, continues to insist on early elections. Even the right-wing Lega around Matteo Salvini, which has been co-governing so far, has not ruled out early elections.
Draghi misses the support
The Italian political chaos was triggered by the boycott of a vote of confidence in the Senate by the Five Star Movement, which was part of the government. The populists stayed away from voting on an aid decree worth around 26 billion euros. The money is intended to help Italy’s companies and families because of the increased energy prices as a result of the Ukraine war. However, there was also a vote of confidence associated with the vote. But because the “stars” were absent, Draghi lacked their support.
Aiming for new elections: 5-star boss Conte.
(Photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire)
The move by Giuseppe Conte’s anti-establishment party came as no surprise. “We will not vote,” Draghi’s 57-year-old predecessor announced on Wednesday. There has been a rift between the Five Star Movement and the rest of the multi-party government before. The party demanded more aid money for the decree. Conte also did not want to support a plan contained in the decree to build a waste incineration plant in the waste-plagued capital of Rome. The star politicians find that the plant is not the right and environmentally friendly way to dispose of the garbage.
The belligerent movement in the Chamber of Deputies – the larger of the two-chamber parliament – caused a scandal on Monday when the decree was voted on there. One difference to the Senate, however, was that there the vote of confidence and the decree vote were separate. For example, the government deputies were able to express their confidence but stay away from the aid decree. With the vote in the Senate, Parliament approved the law with 172 yes to 39 no votes – even without a star movement.
Between drought and Ukraine war
“Conte gambled and in the end he no longer had his people under control,” said political expert Tobias Mörschel from the SPD-affiliated Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation. The situation that a government ultimately fails because of a waste incineration plant is absurd. The South Tyrolean Senator Julia Unterberger called the government crisis “completely irresponsible”. However, she noted that Draghi could have reacted differently because he has the confidence of Parliament anyway. Conte’s star party has been in an identity crisis for weeks.
The polls for the 2018 election winners are in the basement. Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio recently left the movement founded by professional comedian Beppe Grillo, of which he was once the boss. He took dozens of his fellow campaigners with him to the new party Insieme per il futuro (Together for the future). The Stars were therefore no longer the largest parliamentary party and therefore not decisive for the votes of confidence. It remains to be seen how things will continue with Conte and the five stars.
The political uncertainty comes at a time when Italy is grappling with multiple challenges, including a dependency on Russian natural gas and a drought in the country. In the EU, developments in Italy are being followed with concern and astonishment, said Economy Commissioner and former Prime Minister of Italy, Paolo Gentiloni.