Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte handed in his resignation to the head of state on Tuesday, hoping he would be given an opportunity to put together a new coalition and rebuild his parliamentary majority.
The deepening political crisis is playing out against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 85,000 Italians — the second highest death toll in Europe after Britain and the sixth highest in the world.
Conte lost his absolute majority in the upper house Senate last week when a junior partner, the Italia Viva party headed by former premier Matteo Renzi, quit in a row over the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis and economic recession.
Efforts to lure centrist and independent senators into the coalition to fill the hole left by Renzi have met little success, leaving Conte no choice but to resign and open a formal government crisis that will give him more time to find a deal.
President Sergio Mattarella will start a rapid round of consultations with party leaders on Wednesday afternoon to test the political waters, his office said.
If he thinks Conte can secure the necessary backing to pull together a new administration, the president will likely give him a few days to try to finalise a deal and draw up a new cabinet.
Financial markets edged higher despite the latest political tumult, with investors hopeful that Conte might eventually emerge with a more stable government.
Until now the main coalition parties — the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and centre-left Democratic Party (PD) — have backed Conte’s efforts to stay in power.
“Conte is the essential element and we need to broaden and relaunch the government’s action,” Debora Serracchiani, the deputy head of the PD, told state broadcaster RAI.
Wow Thanks for this posting i find it hard to locate awesome related information out there when it comes to this subject material appreciate for the post site