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Italy’s president calls for ‘urgent’ solution to political stalemate

The Italian president appealed on Friday for an "urgent" solution to the deadlock over who can lead a new government as talks with anti-establishment and right-wing leaders failed amid a row over Silvio Berlusconi.

Published: 13 April 2018 17:30 CEST
Italy's president calls for 'urgent' solution to political stalemate
President Sergio Mattarella announced that Italy's latest government talks had ended without a deal. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

On Friday President Sergio Mattarella, who guides the talks and has the job of naming the eventual prime minister, confirmed to reporters that there had been “no progress” after concluding the second round of consultations.

However, he stressed the need to quickly form a new government given a  series of pressing domestic and international issues like the tensions surrounding Syria, but said that he would wait a few days before deciding how to “end the deadlock”.

READ ALSO: Who is Italian President Sergio Mattarella? The man guiding Italy through rocky government talks

Salvini's right-wing coalition, which includes Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, is the largest group with 37 percent.

The M5S is Italy's largest single party after picking up just under 33 percent of the vote in the March 4th election.

Both have repeatedly said that they are ready to work together, but Di Maio has demanded that Salvini break with Berlusconi.

The League only picked up 17 percent on its own and Salvini has refused to ditch his partner.

The 81-year-old broke ranks at the end of Salvini's post-consultation speech to media on Thursday, blasting the M5S as not knowing “the ABCs of democracy”.

READ ALSO: 


Rightwing allies Giorgia Meloni, Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi after talks on Thursday. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

Later Di Maio asked Berlusconi, who cannot hold public office due to a tax fraud conviction, to “step aside” so that he could start working with Salvini.

But on Friday morning Salvini stood his ground and warned of new elections if they didn't stop “bickering”.

“The people will get fed up, I'll get fed up… either they pack it in or we vote,” Salvini said to national broadcaster Radio 1.

However, Mattarella has other options other than new elections at his disposal, including a third round of consultations or giving an “exploratory mandate” to an individual within the parliament who could try to gain consensus from the squabbling parties. 

READ ALSO: Italy's political rivals depicted as Caravaggio's cheats

The Cardsharps: Italy's political rivals depicted as Caravaggio's cheats
Photo: Fanny Carrier/AFP

EU

Italy’s Meloni hopes EU ‘understands message’ from voters

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Saturday she hoped the European Union would understand the "message" sent by voters in last weekend's elections, after far-right parties such as hers made gains.

Published: 15 June 2024 17:33 CEST
Italy's Meloni hopes EU 'understands message' from voters

Meloni, head of the post-fascist Brothers of Italy party, which performed particularly well in the vote, urged the EU to “understand the message that has come from European citizens”.

“Because if we want to draw lessons from the vote that everything was fine, I fear it would be a slightly distorted reading,” she told a press conference at the end of a G7 summit in Puglia.

“European citizens are calling for pragmatism, they are calling for an approach that is much less ideological on several major issues,” she said.

Meloni’s right-wing government coalition has vehemently opposed the European Green Deal and wants a harder stance on migration.

“Citizens vote for a reason. It seems to me that a message has arrived, and it has arrived clearly,” she said.

EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Monday to negotiate the top jobs, including whether European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will get a second term.

Von der Leyen’s centre-right European People’s Party strengthened its grip with the vote, but her reconfirmation is not yet in the bag.

The 65-year-old conservative was in Puglia for the G7 and likely used the summit to put her case to the leaders of France, Germany and Italy.

But Meloni refused to be drawn on whom she is backing.

“We will have a meeting on Monday, we’ll see,” she told journalists.

“We will also see what the evaluations will be on the other top roles,” she said.

Italian political watchers say Meloni is expected to back von der Leyen, but is unlikely to confirm that openly until Rome locks in a deal on commissioner jobs.

“What interests me is that… Italy is recognised for the role it deserves,” she said.

“I will then make my assessments.”

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani indicated that it was unlikely any decision would be made before the French elections on June 30 and July 7.

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