Before the “Day of Truth” for Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the “national unity” government he led could begin on Wednesday morning, it had become two.

The leaders of the parliamentary groups in both chambers of parliament had agreed the evening before to extend the debate and vote on the future of the government to two days.

On Wednesday, the entire day of the session was reserved for the declaration of the Prime Minister, whose resignation had been rejected by President Sergio Mattarella last Thursday, for the debate on the declaration and for the vote of confidence in the early evening.

The debate in the House of Representatives on Draghi's policy statement has been set for Thursday morning, with the vote of confidence in the larger chamber set for 3.30pm on July 21.

Matthias Rub

Political correspondent for Italy, the Vatican, Albania and Malta based in Rome.

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There are good reasons for the decision to double the “Day of Truth”, so to speak.

It is the elected representatives of the people who, according to the constitution, have the power to decide on the formation and replacement of a government.

And they must give themselves all the time they need for the debate and decision-making process.

The patience of the Italians – as well as that of Italy's allies around the world – was of course put to another test: the acute government crisis is now likely to last for a week.

And that in times of war and inflation, drought and heat wave.

Draghi heaps praise on the senators

Draghi's speech in the Senate, which lasted a good half an hour, was a powerful application: for the continuation of the previous government work and for the trust of the representatives of the people.

He highlighted the achievements of his broad coalition over the past 17 months and clearly outlined what remains to be done in the remaining eight months before the end of the regular term.

He showered the senators with praise - for the cohesion in the difficult time of the (post-)pandemic and especially in the vaccination campaign, for the steps taken to restart the economy and diversify the energy supply, for the reform of the judiciary and administration and for improvement the overall competitiveness of the Italian economy.

And Draghi praised the solidarity of the representatives and the people in defending Ukraine and Ukrainians who were victims of the aggression ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

That this praise was a bit exaggerated and also dishonest was evident from the heckling that became loud during this passage of the speech.

Draghi knows that the country and its coalition are divided over how soon the war in Ukraine should be brought to an end.

Draghi himself unequivocally committed himself to the further armament of Ukraine.

Draghi concluded by calling for the crumbling or even already broken “pact of trust” to be re-established in his governing coalition.

"Are you ready, are the parties and parliamentarians ready to restore this pact?" Draghi asked.

A “serious and concrete” pact that must be as firm as it was after the coalition was formed in February 2021 and that was only recently softened.

"We're here," Draghi said - actually meaning "I'm here" - "because the Italians asked for it."

Draghi's message was: The people want the government to continue under my leadership, and the people's representatives should comply with this will.