Italian PM Giuseppe Conte close to resigning, reports local media

Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is close to stepping down from his post to make way for the formation of a new government with a greater majority, reported local media outlet on January 25. The  La Repubblica newspaper cited Conte as saying, “My aim is to find an agreement that gives a clear political perspective to the government until the end of the term”. This came after Conte had survived a vote in Italian Senate last week and urged the centrist or unaligned lawmakers outside the coalition to join hands with his minority government. However, only handful members have responded. 

Italian PM’s minority government was engulfed in chaos after a junior partner, the Italia Viva party headed by former premier Matteo Renzi resigned from the cabinet in a row over the handling of COVID-19 pandemic. Even though Conte survived a subsequent confidence vote in parliament on January 19, he remained unsuccessful in securing an absolute majority in the Senate. This implies that Italian PM will struggle in order to enact any policy agenda unless he draws new support. 

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Italy’s political crisis explained

The crisis began with former Italian PM Matteo Renzi reportedly orchestrating the resignations of two ministers from his small but influential Italia Viva party. It was also not the first time Renzi shook Italy’s politics after becoming premier in 2014 by out-manoeuvring and unceremoniously deposing then-Democratic Party member Enrico Letta as Italy's leader. Eventually, Renzi fell from power nearly three years later after gambling his popularity on a constitutional referendum. However, now, the former Florence mayor might bring down Conte who Renzi has broadly accused of not properly managing the global health crisis. While Renzi has reportedly said that he is only following his conscience, it comes at a great political cost for the nation. He has even asserted at a press conference earlier this month, "Italia Viva did not start the crisis. It has been going on for months".

However, with Renzi suspending support for Conte and resignation of two  Italia Viva ministers, Italian PM is working to steer support among the independent lawmakers. Conte still has the backing of the Democratic Party and the 5-Star Movement, both have instead denounced Renzi’s approach as irresponsible. Since he failed to secure enough backing in Senate, Conte is reportedly likely to submit his resignation to Italian President Sergio Mattarella. 

This would push the nation under a technical government. As per reports, a general election in Italy is unlikely and the current majority would like to hold on at least January 2022. However, there are still concerns that the right-wing opposition would gain strength and lead a new government.

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