Italian PM Giuseppe Conte resigns amid political crisis

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte submitted his resignation on Tuesday to President Sergio Mattarella, in a bid to form a new, stronger government after weeks of political turmoil.

Published: 26 January 2021 13:08 CET

Italian PM Giuseppe Conte resigns amid political crisis

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte leaves the Quirinale presidential palace by car after submitting his resignation on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Conte tendered his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella, the ultimate arbiter of Italian political crises, who invited him to stay on in a caretaker

capacity pending discussions on what happens next.

PROFILE: Italy's Giuseppe Conte, from 'populist puppet' to political survivor

The uneasy coalition government that has led Italy since September 2019 was fatally weakened earlier this month when former premier Matteo Renzi withdrew his small Italia Viva party.

Ahead of a key vote in parliament this week that he looked set to lose, Conte informed his cabinet on Tuesday that he would quit in what supporters said was a tactical move to form a new government.

After the meeting with Mattarella, a spokesman for the president said he “reserves the right to decide (what to do next) and invited the government to

stay in office in a caretaker capacity”.

Mattarella will open discussions with party leaders on Wednesday afternoon which are likely to lead into Thursday — leaving a vacuum at the top of government during the coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis.

Conte is expected to seek a new mandate for what would be his third consecutive government in three years, but this depends on his ability to

expand his parliamentary majority.

He can currently count on the populist Five Star Movement, the centre-left Democratic Party and the smaller leftist Free and Equals party.

Nicola Zingaretti, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), the other main partner in the coalition, so far is backing Conte.

He tweeted that he was “with Conte for a new government that is clearly pro-European and supported by a broad parliamentary base”.

But other lawmakers will be needed to form a viable new government, and “it is currently unclear whether Conte can succeed in such an effort”, analyst Wolfango Piccoli noted.

If he cannot, the M5S and PD could “ditch Conte and look for another candidate” to head a new coalition government.

They are keen to avoid snap elections, which opinion polls suggest would lead to victory for the centre-right coalition comprising billionaire former
premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini's right-wing populist League party.

Member comments

Anonymous - 26 January 2021 at 15:35 CET

You have got to love Italian politics, the Lefties do not want an election as they know the people will not vote them back in , incredible.

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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.