Five Star Movement’s ultimatum to the Italian right: Ditch Berlusconi by Sunday

Italy's anti-establishment party leader Luigi Di Maio on Wednesday gave far-right leader Matteo Salvini until the "end of the week" to dump coalition ally Silvio Berlusconi and strike a deal in the latest round of Italian government talks.

Published: 19 April 2018 09:00 CEST

Five Star Movement's ultimatum to the Italian right: Ditch Berlusconi by Sunday

Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi after talks at the presidential palace. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

Earlier, Italian President Sergio Mattarella tasked Senate speaker Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati with brokering an agreement by Friday between Di Maio's Five Star Movement (M5S) and Salvini's nationalist League party, which leads a right-wing coalition that contains Berlusconi's Forza Italia.

The pair are vying to lead the country out of weeks of political deadlock that has emerged from the inconclusive March 4th general election.

The third round of consultations centres on Di Maio's refusal to deal with Berlusconi, whom the M5S sees as a symbol of political corruption, and the 81-year-old media magnate's distaste for the “anti-democratic” M5S.

After meeting the Senate speaker on Wednesday afternoon, Di Maio dug his heels in, calling Salvini's right-wing grouping “an electoral gimmick” and demanding that he come to the negotiating table alone.

“I expect a definitive response [from Salvini] by the end of the week,” Di Maio told reporters.

“The country can't wait any longer.”

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Di Maio, 31, wants to create a German-style “government contract” with the League.

“The only forces capable of signing this contract and forming a government in these consultations are the M5S and the League,” he added.

Alberti Casellati is an ally of former prime minister Berlusconi, and her election as the first-ever female Senate speaker was part of a pact that aimed to smooth the path to an alliance between the M5S and the League.

They have been battling over who should lead the government since the M5S became Italy's largest single party at the polls with just under 33 percent of the vote and the right picked up 37 percent.

Despite Di Maio's pressure, Salvini has refused to break up the grouping that won the most number of seats in the parliament and has given him a chance of becoming prime minister.

“I don't see respect for the people's vote. The one that came second dictating the rules to the one that came first,” Salvini said.

Di Maio's ultimatum is designed to put pressure on Salvini, who is eyeing elections on April 29th in the northeastern region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, where a League candidate backed by Forza Italia is favourite to win.

It also opens the door to potential future talks with centre-left Democratic Party (PD), who are not involved in this round of consultations after their coalition came third and subsequently refused to deal with either the right or M5S.

Berlusconi on Wednesday assured that he had not vetoed any alliance with the M5S and hinted that there might be a new round of talks with the Senate Speaker on Thursday.

Who is Elisabetta Casellati? The woman trying to break Italy's parliamentary deadlock
Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

The strike comes after Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama — who is close to Meloni — called a top RAI editor to complain about a television report into Italy’s controversial migration deal with his country.

The Usigrai trade union called the strike from May 6 to May 7 saying talks with management had failed to address their concerns.

It cited numerous issues, including staff shortages and contract issues, but in first place was “the suffocating control over journalistic work, with the attempt to reduce RAI to a megaphone for the government”.

It had already used that phrase to object to what critics say is the increasing influence over RAI by figures close to Prime Minister Meloni, who leads Italy’s most right-wing government since World War II.

However, another union of RAI journalists, Unirai, said they would not join what they called a “political” strike, defending the return to “pluralism” at the broadcaster.

Funded in part by a licence fee and with top managers long chosen by politicians, RAI’s independence has always been an issue of debate.

But the arrival in power of Meloni — leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, who formed a coalition with Matteo Salvini’s far-right League party and the late Silvio Berlusconi’s right-wing Forza Italia — redoubled concerns.

Tensions erupted at the weekend amid accusations RAI censored a speech by a leading writer criticising Meloni ahead of Liberation Day on April 25, when Italians mark the defeat of Fascism and the Nazis at the end of World War II.

Both RAI’s management and Meloni have denied censorship, and the premier posted the text of the monologue on her social media.

In another twist, Albania’s premier confirmed Thursday he called senior RAI editor Paolo Corsini about an TV report on Sunday into Italy’s plans to build two migration processing centres on Albanian territory.

Rama told La Stampa newspaper the report was “biased” and contained “lies” — adding that he had not raised the issue with Meloni.

The “Report” programme claimed the costs of migrant centres, which are under construction, were already “out of control” and raised questions about criminals benefiting from the project.