The Italian Prime Minister faces the crumbling of his coalition, after the decision of the 5 Star Movement to boycott a vote of confidence in the Senate.
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Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, faced with the crumbling of his coalition, announced in the Council of Ministers that he would resign this Thursday evening, July 14, the government said. But Italian President Sergio Mattarella refused this resignation. “The President of the Republic did not accept the resignation of the President of the Council and invited him to appear in parliament (…) so that an assessment of the situation could take place”announced the Presidency of the Republic in a press release.
The head of government is weakened in particular by the decision of the 5 Star Movement (M5S, antisystem), a member of the ruling coalition, to boycott a vote of confidence in the Senate. “The majority of national unity which has supported this government since its creation no longer exists. The pact of confidence on which the action of this government is based has disappeared”, he explained. The coalition supporting Mario Draghi has so far brought together all the political forces represented in parliament, with the exception of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia party.
mario Draghi therefore theoretically has a majority to govern even without the 5 Stars, but the former boss of the European Central Bank had affirmed on several occasions that there would be no government without them. He had indeed arrived in business at the beginning of 2021 to form a coalition of “national unity” capable of overcoming the pandemic emergency and the economic crisis that ensued. However, without the support of the M5S, he considers that his government becomes “Politics” and considers that it was not mandated to lead a cabinet of this nature.
The M5S opposes incinerators which it finds expensive, polluting, inefficient and do not encourage the population to sort waste. He also calls for the establishment of a minimum wage and a citizen’s income. But the movement also, if not above all, has electoralist ulterior motives, according to analysts. “The M5S is collapsing in the polls and needs to recover visibility (…). It wants to be the center of attention”explained Lorenzo Codogno, former chief economist of the Italian Treasury.
Uncertainty about the future of the Draghi government has not failed to cause market turbulence. The Milan Stock Exchange fell more than 3% on Thursday and Italy’s cost of debt rose again, a sign of nervousness.