Italian President Sergio Mattarella has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Draghi’s government will remain in power “to solve existing problems,” the president of the Italian Republic said on his website. This is Draghi’s second attempt to leave his post on July 14. did not support his decision.
Draghi has served as Prime Minister of Italy since 13 February 2021, succeeding Giuseppe Conte. The Prime Minister explained his decision by saying, “The majority of the national unity that has supported this government since its establishment is gone.”
The reason for his resignation was the refusal of the Five Star Movement, which forms the backbone of the ruling coalition, to participate in a vote of confidence in the Senate against the government. This step was perceived as the Movement’s withdrawal from the parliamentary majority. In addition, the right-wing parties “Forward, Italy” and “League” did not participate in the voting. Despite the government trusting the results of the vote, this did not save the cabinet, as its main power sabotaged the turnout, which essentially led to its collapse.
Ukrainian trail and economic crisis
The Five Star Movement disagrees with the government on a number of points, particularly on support for Ukraine. Thus, on July 13, the leader of the Five Stars, Conte, the former prime minister, said that the movement will not participate in the voting of the next package of economic support measures for the population, because he found them insufficient. and its coalition allies of trying to sabotage previously accepted initiatives. The movement also suggested holding a parliamentary vote on rejecting new arms supplies to Ukraine and focusing efforts on finding a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
The bill meant aid to the population in conjunction with inflation and skyrocketing energy prices. The amount of aid is 26 billion Euros. Five Stars opposed the project because of their plans to establish a waste incineration plant near Rome. The movement also pushed for increased social spending demands.
In response to the movement’s outcry, Matteo Renzi, head of the Living Force party, called Conte’s remarks elements of the show and was only intended to increase support among supporters.
Split in Motion
Due to the position on the Ukraine issue, the disagreement began not only in the ruling coalition, but also in the Movement itself. On 21 June, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio announced his resignation from the party, accusing Conte of undermining the government’s efforts to support Ukraine and weakening Rome’s position in the EU.
“We absolutely had to choose which side of history we would be on – on the side of the attacked Ukraine or on the side of the aggressor Russia? “The positions of some M5 leaders risked weakening our country,” said Di Maio.
Later, Di Maio announced that he would set up his own parliamentary group to support then-Prime Minister Draghi. according to Italians mass media About 60 deputies of the movement joined him. Thus, the Movement lost more than a quarter of the faction in the Parliament.
Scans and support for Ukraine
On 21 June, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that EU sanctions against Russia were effective. “The Council of Ministers plans to continue supporting Ukraine in accordance with what our parliament has asked us to do,” he said.
On June 28, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that his country is ready to continue to support Kiev, despite the military successes of the Russian Federation in the framework of a special operation in Ukraine.
“There are concerns about continued success” [России]. However, this does not mean that we will stop supporting Kiev,” he said.
Draghi’s resignation marks the fourth government crisis in the European Union last month. Earlier, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation. On 14 July, Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kallas announced his resignation. The Bulgarian parliament voted no confidence in the coalition government led by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov.