Italy is seeking a way out of the political crisis that prompted Prime Minister Mario Draghi to submit his resignation last Thursday. While there are suggestions to Draghi from inside and outside the country to abandon his decision to resign, the possibility of early elections is being spoken more and more frequently.
The crisis, which brought the national unity government established about 1.5 years ago to the stage of disintegration, is seen as a result of the identity crisis of the populist 5 Star Movement, which is experiencing turmoil within itself.
The move that prompted Draghi to resign was the failure of his coalition partner, the 5 Stars Movement, to give the government a vote of confidence in the Senate last Thursday. Although the government passed the no-confidence vote, Draghi decided to step down on the grounds that the national unity structure of the coalition he led had deteriorated.
Although President Sergio Mattarella rejected his request to resign, it is stated that Draghi is determined to step down and can announce this within the next week.
Vote and parliamentary loss
The 5 Star Movement, which became the first party with 32 percent of the votes in the last general elections held in 2018, lost approximately 2/3 of its support in the past 4 years. About half of those who entered the parliament from the movement changed parties during this period.
The 5 Star Movement took part in all 3 coalition governments established after the 2018 elections. The first two of these governments were led by the current leader of the movement, Giuseppe Conte. Conte’s term as prime minister ended in February last year with the appointment of Mario Draghi as foreign prime minister.
In the analyzes made in the Italian press in recent days, there is also the claim that Conte approached Draghi, who lost his seat, with a feeling of personal revenge.
Rome’s garbage problem played a role
The 5 Star Movement, led by Giuseppe Conte, announced their decision not to participate in Thursday’s vote of confidence, citing a planned facility in Rome as one of the reasons for this.
The package, which was submitted to a vote of confidence in the Senate, also included a waste-to-energy plant planned as a solution to the capital’s chronic garbage problem. The 5 Star Movement opposes this facility on the grounds that it is not environmentally friendly enough and is against its founding principles.
In some comments in the press, reminding that the previous mayor of Rome was from the 5 Star Movement, there is also the claim that the authorities that were not given to the mayor at that time on the garbage problem are now given to the municipality under the administration of the Democratic Party, and Giuseppe Conte is uncomfortable with this.
Arms aid to Ukraine
The first major conflict between Conte and Draghi was over arms aid to Ukraine.
The leader of the 5 Star Movement, Conte, was opposing the help of the Italian government in this direction, claiming that weapons support prolongs the war in Ukraine.
This conflict over Ukraine policy also led to a major break with the 5 Star Movement. Luigi Di Maio, the former political leader of the movement and the current government’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, left the movement last month after a disagreement with Conte on the issue.
Dozens of parliamentarians passed from the 5 Star Movement to the new group “Together for the Future” founded by Di Maio.
Foreign Minister Di Maio accused his former party of trying to overthrow Draghi’s government to reverse its loss of support.
restlessness in movement
On the other hand, although the 5 Star Movement did not participate in Thursday’s vote of confidence, it has not decided to withdraw from the government. Ministers from the Movement still continue their duties.
This is causing new unrest and divisions within 5 Stars. These divergences within the 5 Star Movement (M5S) were in the headlines of many national newspapers this morning.
La Repubblica, one of the country’s largest newspapers, wrote under the headline “Fighting over ministers in the M5S,” that “Fissures are growing within the party”.
Corriere della Sera also came out with the headline “Chaos on the M5S, the elections are getting closer”.
It is emphasized that Giuseppe Conte wants to re-shine the anti-system, oppositional identity that played a major role in the rise of the populist 5 Star Movement but lost its vitality recently.
However, while the war, pandemic, energy crisis and economic concerns in Ukraine continue, there are concerns that Italy will be dragged into political instability.