- Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi clearly missed the broad approval he wanted in the vote of confidence in the Senate.
- The 74-year-old won the vote in Rome on Wednesday evening with 95 yes votes and 38 no votes, but his major governing parties Lega, Forza Italia and the Five Star Movement did not vote.
- It is therefore likely that Draghi will again offer his resignation to Head of State Sergio Mattarella, who will call new elections.
A meeting of Draghi with Mattarella on Wednesday evening was no longer on the agenda, as a spokesman for the Quirinale Palace confirmed. It was therefore not yet clear when and whether Draghi would come to the 80-year-old head of state on Thursday.
Even before the decisive vote of confidence on Wednesday evening, the three main parties in the Italian government announced that they would not take part in the vote in the Senate. However, Mario Draghi himself had made this broad approval a condition in order to continue at the head of the government.
Lega and Forza Italia did not want to vote because they wanted to vote on another resolution that would have ruled out continued government with the Five Star Movement.
Sad and dramatic day for Italy.
The head of the social democratic PD, Enrico Letta, speaks of a “sad and dramatic day for Italy”. According to Letta’s allegations, the three main governing parties had withdrawn their allegiance from Mario Draghi for tactical reasons, thereby plunging the country into a difficult situation.
After the resignation is before the resignation
After his resignation, which was rejected by the President last week, Draghi spoke before the Senate on Wednesday. He called on all parliamentarians in his multi-party government to put their differences aside and express their confidence in the executive for the good of the country.
This is how the government crisis in Italy came about
The trigger for the government crisis was the lack of confidence in Draghi’s cabinet by the Five Star Movement, which was part of the governing body, when the Senate voted on a multi-billion dollar aid package. His government received the necessary majority even without the star votes, but according to Draghi the “pact of trust” was broken. Because he made participation by the Five Stars a condition for a government under him to the end.
Mario Draghi then offered his resignation, but President Sergio Mattarella refused and sent him to Parliament to justify himself. The Five Star Movement, shaken by the low in the polls and leaving the party, then demanded that Draghi respond to their political demands.