Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has managed to hold on to power, but he will move forward with an even more fragile government as the country struggles to break out of the coronavirus pandemic and recession.
Conte, who has led two different governments since 2018, was supported by 156 parliamentarians in the Senate on Tuesday, with 140 votes against and 16 abstentions. Conte also won a vote of confidence in the lower house on Monday.
The victory puts an end to the turmoil unleashed by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who last week withdrew his small Italia Viva party from the governing coalition, which includes the Five Star Movement (M5S) and the Democratic Party (PD), over differences over pandemic management and a post-Covid-19 economic recovery plan.
In his address to senators, Conte accused Italia Viva of creating chaos by making persistent demands that were “clearly divisive”.
“I guarantee that it is very difficult to govern in these conditions, with people who continually lay mines in our path and try to undermine the political balance reached patiently by the coalition,” said Conte.
He called on the so-called “builders” to prevent the collapse of the government in the midst of the pandemic, which claimed more than 83,000 lives in Italy, while promising to shake up his office, modernize the country and quickly implement the economic recovery plan.
But leading a minority administration paves the way for a precarious period, as any divisive issue could jeopardize its survival.
“Although minority governments are nothing new in Italy, what will be unprecedented is a minority government (supported by a difficult-to-control coalition) trying to lift the country out of the deepest economic crisis since World War II in the midst of a pandemic, while it also tries to create a multi-year plan to manage € 209 billion (£ 185 billion) of EU recovery financing, ”wrote Wolfango Piccoli, co-chairman of London-based research firm Teneo Holdings, in a note.
Conte enjoyed popularity for his way of dealing with the pandemic during the first wave, when the country suffered a difficult two-month blockade, but lost credibility due to the government’s random approach to subsequent restrictions and weak financial response to the affected companies.
“I think now everyone has realized that Conte is very, very good at holding onto power, but very, very bad when it comes to managing things and approving reforms,” said Francesco Galietti, the founder of Policy Sonar, a politician based in Rome consultancy. “He did not approve any reform and you can tell from the recovery plan that other EU member states are very nervous, as more than € 200 billion will go down the drain.”
Renzi criticized the post-pandemic spending plan as weak, arguing that the money was at risk of being wasted. His other main complaint was that Italy did not use the EU’s rescue fund – the European stability mechanism – to strengthen the health service. The M5S has always resisted this, fearing it would leave Italy subject to the EU’s strict austerity rules.
“Renzi is right about these issues,” said Galietti. “And from his perspective, this was a bus driving straight into an abyss, so he wanted to get out of the cabin.”