Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will hold a press conference on 7 July 2020 in Rome, Italy.
AM SWEMBAD | Getty Images News | Getty Images
LONDON – Italy is facing more political unrest after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned on Tuesday, at a time when the country is facing a serious health and economic crisis.
Italy has been embroiled in political uncertainty for the past three weeks after a small party, Italia Viva, decided to leave the coalition government led by Conte. The breach in the executive branch came after a dispute over the recovery of funds for the EU pandemic, and how it was paid out, plunged the country into instability.
Earlier Tuesday, Conte, who has no political affiliation, told his ministers he was resigning. He then submitted his official resignation to President Sergio Mattarella. The president apparently asked Conte to stay in a caretaker role while consultations take place on the formation of a new government.
However, the resignation is seen as an attempt to avoid a parliamentary defeat in a Senate vote later this week.
He survived a position of trust last week, but his government was stripped of a working majority with the departure of Italia Viva, making it difficult for the rest of his term to pass any important laws.
“Conte and his government have failed in their desperate efforts to increase its majority, with a new Senate vote currently scheduled for January 27,” Wolfango Piccoli, co-president of the consulting firm Teneo, said in a statement. said. comment.
He said Conte’s resignation was an attempt “to ensure his own political survival.”
Italian President Sergio Mattarella will have to decide whether he will give Conte the chance to renegotiate with lawmakers, seeking a majority that will enable him to govern.
“Conte’s calculation is that by avoiding the early movement and later a humiliating defeat in the Senate, he would increase his chances of getting a mandate from Mattarella to form a new government,” Piccoli said, while warned that it is currently unclear whether Conte can succeed in such an attempt. ‘
If Italian lawmakers do not reach an agreement on a new coalition government, with or without Conte as prime minister, voters may have to go to the polls sooner rather than later.
“The bottom line is that Italy will continue to be governed by an executive that is not suited to the difficult work ahead, just as it has been since the last election,” Piccoli said.
This is a crucial news report and is being updated.