The resignation of the Italian prime minister ... and the start of consultations to form a new government
Conte was forced to choose to resign, hoping that the president would trust him again and task him with forming a government.
Reuters
The Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, submitted his resignation yesterday to the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, in an attempt to form a new government with a stronger majority.
The Italian presidency said, in a statement, that Mattarella accepted the resignation, and “reserves the right to make a decision (what to do next), and called on the government to continue conducting business” until a new government is formed. Mattarella added that he will start a new round of consultations with Party leaders to explore opportunities for the way forward, this afternoon, and discussions are expected to continue until tomorrow.
Conte hopes to have a mandate from President Mattarella, which will be the third since 2018, in an attempt to form a new government, according to Italian media.
The political crisis began with the withdrawal of the former prime minister, Matteo Renzi (2014-2016), his small "Italia FIFA" party from the ruling coalition, on January 13, after he had been criticizing for weeks how to deal with the health crisis and Conte's plans for economic spending.
The "Italia FIFA" party has been participating in the government, since the summer of 2019, with the Democratic Party (the center left) and the "5 Stars" (populist) movement, with the support of small parties in Parliament.
Conte was conducting fraught deliberations behind the scenes, hoping to attract independent parliamentarians or dissidents, so that he could remain in power with a cabinet reshuffle, but he did not succeed in his endeavors, and Conte was subsequently forced to adopt the option to resign, hoping that the president would trust him again, and task him with forming a government .
Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news