Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has resigned from his position. However, the country’s president, Sergio Mattarella, recently rejected Draghi’s resignation.
20:10•Updated 22:00
In Italy, the president Sergio Mattarella has been rejected by the prime minister Mario Draghi resignation letter.
Draghi had told his government on Thursday evening of his intention to resign from the position of prime minister. He submitted his resignation to the president, who, however, rejected Draghi’s intention to resign.
The president’s press release calls on Draghi to return to find out if he can still get the majority of the parliament behind him.
The Five Star Movement boycotted the vote of confidence
Earlier on Thursday, the broad coalition government led by Draghi survived a vote of no confidence in the parliament with 172-39 votes. However, Draghi told his government partners in the evening that he no longer has the conditions to continue leading the government.
– The national united coalition that supported our government no longer exists, Draghi commented. Draghi has led Italy’s broad coalition government from February 2021.
Draghi’s resignation is the result of the ruling Five Star Party’s decision to boycott the no-confidence vote. The populist and EU-critical Five Star Movement decided on Wednesday that its senators will not participate in the vote.
Draghi had already announced in advance that he would resign as prime minister if the government did not receive the support of the Five Star Movement.
At the center of the dispute is the waste incineration plant and 23 billion euros
The vote of confidence was related to the aid package for the fight against inflation of 23 billion euros. The package included, among other things, a new waste incineration plant for the city of Rome, which the Five Star Movement has opposed for a long time.
Far-right parties have made the most of the crisis. Both the anti-immigration Lega and the Brothers of Italy party, which is part of Draghi’s coalition, are calling for new elections.
Professor at the London School of Economics Lorenzo Codogno already speculated earlier on Thursday that President Mattarella might instruct Draghi to seek a vote of confidence again in another vote, in which the Five Star Movement might also want to participate.
According to Codogno, a party suffering from support problems may not want to go into an election battle in this situation.
What is happening in the market?
The differences between the parties in the governing coalition have tightened, as Italy is faced with several challenging questions.
The market is closely monitoring how Italy succeeds in making structural reforms that convince investors of the country’s solvency. Italy is also getting the biggest pot from the EU’s common recovery fund.
In addition, Italy should be able to fight against the drought that plagued the country and reduce its dependence on Russian gas.
Parliamentary elections were supposed to be held in Italy at the beginning of next year. If the president had accepted Draghi’s resignation, early parliamentary elections would probably have been held in September or October.