ROME – Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has resigned, starting a phase of political instability that could lead to a new government or elections this spring.
Italy’s left-wing government collapses at a time when the country, like most of the western world, struggles to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, vaccinate its population and rekindle economic growth.
The fall of the Italian leader also shows that Europe’s political challenges in recent years – including the fragmentation of the political landscape and the rise of anti-establishment parties – have not disappeared, despite the pressure that the pandemic is exerting on European politicians to work together beyond party lines.
Conte stepped down on Tuesday after losing a majority in the Italian Senate this month after a fight with a small coalition ally over how to spend the huge funds offered by the European Union to help the Italian economy recover from the pandemic.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in his office at the Chigi Palace in Rome on Tuesday.
Photograph:
Filippo Attili / Chigi Palace Pres / Shutterstock
Italy’s head of state, President Sergio Mattarella, will start political consultations with parties in Parliament to test whether a new governing majority can be found. Possible scenarios include a government under a new prime minister or another coalition led by Conte.
If Mr. Mattarella concludes that no stable majority can be brought together, he will dissolve Parliament and call elections.
The government broke down after a small centrist party led by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi left the coalition, citing disagreement over how Conte wanted to spend more than € 200 billion, equivalent to $ 243 billion, on EU recovery funds destined for Italy.
Conte and his main members of the coalition, the center-left Democratic Party and the populist 5 Star Movement, tried to find new supporters in the Senate, the upper house of Italy’s Parliament, to replace Renzi’s party, but the search had little fruit. .
Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi withdrew his party from the governing coalition in a dispute over EU recovery funds.
Photograph:
francesco fotia / swimming pool / Shutterstock
However, if a new group of centrist senators willing to support Conte comes up in the next few days, Mattarella may appoint him as prime minister again. Many political analysts consider this the most likely outcome. It would be the third coalition government led by Conte since 2018, when the little-known law professor first entered national politics.
“The standard solution would be another Conte government, with broader support and significant signs of discontinuity with the past,” said Lorenzo Codogno, a London-based consultant and former Italian Treasury economist.
Alternatively, a majority in Parliament may emerge to support a government under a new premier. Renzi’s party, Italia Viva, has shown more willingness to support a government that is not led by Conte.
A new prime minister may come from the Democratic Party or the 5 Star Movement, or he may be a politically independent figure with technocratic experience.
Parts of Italy’s right-wing opposition called for early elections, but the parties behind the left government want to avoid this, if possible. Opinion polls point to a victory for the right.
Opponents of early elections say they would pose public health challenges in the midst of the pandemic and would also delay Italy’s efforts to come up with a plan to revive its shaky economy using EU funds.
Write to Giovanni Legorano at [email protected]
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