Designated Prime Minister, Mario Draghi.
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LONDON – Mario Draghi has gathered enough support from Italian lawmakers and will now probably lead the next government in that country.
Members of the left Five Star Movement chose to support Draghi, the nominated prime minister, in an online poll conducted on Thursday, with 59.3% supporting the former head of the European Central Bank. Draghi appears to have a solid majority in Rome and no party would be able to derail his administration.
He will now face votes of confidence in Parliament next week and will present his office to the president on Friday.
Draghi was called on to resolve a political crisis in the euro’s third largest economy. The chaos started when a small party, called Italia Viva, withdrew its support for the fragile coalition government. This meant that the pro-EU Cabinet lost the necessary majority of work in the Italian Parliament, which raised the prospect of a quick election at a time of serious economic and health crisis.
After a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella last week, Draghi agreed to try to form a government of national unity. Famous for rescuing the euro in the grip of a sovereign debt crisis, Draghi will face the difficult task of leading his own country’s economic recovery.
A government led by Draghi, while more technocratic than political, would avoid the need for early elections, something that most traditional politicians want to avoid. Research shows that the anti-immigration Lega party would win the majority of votes in an election and could form an alliance with the extreme right party of the Brothers in Italy.
Along with the Five Star Movement, the center Democratic Party and Italia Viva also supported Draghi. Matteo Renzi, the leader of Italia Viva, told CNBC last week that he believes the country will be in “very good hands” with Draghi.
“I am very happy because today Italy is in very good hands,” said Renzi. “Mario Draghi was the Italian who saved the euro. Now I think he will be the European who will save Italy,” he added.