The Senate will gather at 3 pm today to listen to Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's view of the crisis in the country. After that, he may be subjected to the vote of no confidence that Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini, leader of the Lega government, announced against him.

If Conte loses, the government falls.

Troubled about trains

The current crisis began with trains. It was at the beginning of August that the government coalition between xenophobic Lega and the anti-establishment party Five Star Movement (M5S) collapsed over a dispute over high-speed train investments.

Matteo Salvini is eager to take advantage of the fact that Lega currently has high opinion figures and has said that the government lacked Parliament's support and demanded a new election.

But Salvini's plan - to support his own government with a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Conte - has proved more difficult than expected.

Last week the proposal was blocked to carry out the vote and now it is uncertain if any vote will be lost at all.

These are the alternatives today:
  • It will be a distrustful vote

The tradition says that if the prime minister is voted down, the country should go for re-election.

  • Giuseppe Conte resigns himself and retains to some extent his political legitimacy

If Giuseppe Conte resigns, President Sergio Mattarella must either announce new elections or probe the terrain of a new government.

New coalitions

But the question is what could a new government look like? In former government companies M5S and Lega, the door seems closed, according to Reuters.

Instead, the M5S and the Social Democratic Democratic Party (PD) openly discuss the possibilities of forming a new coalition with the aim of ruling the country without Lega's support, AFP reports.

Together with the small Left Party Free and Equal (LeU), they have a parliamentary majority.

However it ends this afternoon, Matteo Salvini has reason to be nervous. If the country does not run for re-election, the Interior Minister can be forced away from the government - and turned into opposition.