The decision of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi to resign was dictated by the rapidly growing political crisis not only in the republic itself, but throughout Europe.

Experts interviewed by RT came to this conclusion.

From their point of view, the Italian government has become a hostage to socio-political and economic problems, provoked, among other things, by anti-Russian sanctions and Rome's policy of military support for the Kyiv regime.

“Draghi is well aware that he will not be able to resolve all these difficulties, which is mainly due to his decision to leave his post.

Italians began to take to the streets, opposing the supply of weapons to Kyiv, as well as against the strengthening of ties with the United States and NATO, which involved the country in the Ukrainian crisis.

This negatively affected the level of support for the prime minister both in society and in the government, as well as on his ability to effectively manage processes within the country, ”explained political scientist Alexander Asafov in a comment to RT.

According to leading researcher, head of the Center for Italian Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences Elena Alekseenkova, Draghi had to resign, among other things, because of deep disagreements in the government and society regarding Italy's future political course.

“And this is not only about the Ukrainian crisis, but also about what economic measures need to be taken to save the Italian economy in the face of an energy crisis, a drought in the country and growing inflation.

It became clear that everyone sees the answers to these challenges differently, and the consensus base that was previously formed and on the basis of which Draghi came to power has now, in fact, collapsed, ”the analyst explained in an interview with RT.

Recall, on the eve of the Prime Minister of Italy handed over his resignation to the head of state Sergio Mattarella, as reported in the presidential Quirinal Palace.

As noted, Draghi's request was "taken into account", and the government was instructed to carry out current duties.

After that, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic, Luigi Di Maio, blamed the resignation of Draghi on parties allegedly sympathetic to the Russian Federation, referring to the Five Star Movement (M5S) and the League.

Earlier, the head of Italian diplomacy, in an interview with The Politico, stated that the Russian leadership was allegedly celebrating the fall of another Western government.

At the same time, as Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized during a press briefing on July 21, Moscow is shocked by accusations of Russia's involvement in the Italian political crisis.

“This is stated by officials in Italy, linking internal political reshuffles with Russia.

It’s amazing and, frankly, shocked us,” she said.

According to Zakharova, such accusations against Russia are unfounded, unfounded and "have no evidence base."

The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also noted that it is beneficial for the Russian side to cooperate with Italy, and not interfere in its political life.

  • Italian government meeting

  • Gettyimages.ru

  • © Antonio Masiello / Stringer

It is worth noting that after Draghi's request for resignation, Sergio Mattarella dissolved the country's parliament on July 21, follows from a statement from the presidential office.

Now the republic is waiting for early parliamentary elections to be held on 25 September.

At the same time, Mario Draghi will perform his duties until the formation of a new government following the results of the electoral process.

Political crisis

Recall that Draghi last week already filed his resignation due to the refusal of the Five Star Movement (M5S), which until recently was the key in the ruling coalition, to take part in the vote of confidence in the government in the Senate.

However, the president rejected the petition due to the fact that formally the government did not lose the support of the parliamentary majority.

It is worth noting that M5S did not vote on the issue of confidence in the government, since it was linked to the adoption of a draft law on a package of assistance to families and companies, the provisions of which did not suit the party: they do not consider these measures sufficient.

In addition, the head of the Five Star Movement, Giuseppe Conte, does not share the prime minister's position on the Ukrainian issue.

Thus, Conte did not support the sending of heavy weapons to Kyiv, declaring that there was no need to build up "military tensions."

Later, he confirmed this point of view, predicting a serious economic recession in the country, and also pointed to the "beggarly wages" in Italy and the fact that the middle class continues to get poorer.

This approach outraged Luigi Di Maio, which led to a split in the M5S and his withdrawal from this political force, which, along with him, also left about 60 parliamentarians.

The efforts of the Italian authorities to prevent the fall of the Draghi government, the British edition of The Guardian called a political firestorm in Europe.

For politicians in Europe, rising fuel prices are the most “deadly of macroeconomic shocks,” the newspaper notes, as they generate higher inflation and slow economic growth.

The publication also predicts that the costs incurred in connection with the Ukrainian conflict have become a test for European leaders.

However, according to the newspaper, the situation in the region could become even worse.

"To the detriment of their interests"

According to Alexander Asafov, the underlying cause of the political crisis in Italy lies primarily in the increased influence of Washington on the decisions of Rome after the aggravation of the situation in Ukraine.

“In Italy, colossal problems arose due to the fact that Rome was forced to submit to someone else's American logic to the detriment of its economic, energy and other interests.

Because of this, the Italian government was forced to make unpopular decisions that lead to an aggravation of tension in society and, as a result, to political and parliamentary crises, ”the expert explained.

According to him, under pressure from Washington, the Italian authorities concentrated too much on the Ukrainian agenda, "forgetting about solving internal problems."

“Actions in the American mainstream and at the same time anti-Russian vector regarding the total support of Ukraine, including militarily, did not leave the Italian government any room for maneuvers aimed at solving Italy’s internal problems.

This caused political instability and discontent in society,” the analyst believes.

  • Gas prices in Italy

  • AP

  • © Alessandra Tarantino, File

Asafov drew an analogy between the situation in the political circles of Italy and the events in the power structures of Great Britain and Bulgaria.

He does not rule out that such turbulence may spread to other European states.

“All this is due to new circumstances, including the economic damage caused by the introduction of sanctions packages against Russia, which in no way protect the economy of European countries, but, on the contrary, harm it.

The longer the economic crisis associated with the disruption of supply chains and financial systems drags on, the more political instability will worsen in European countries, a series of resignations and other negative consequences for the ruling elites will follow,” the analyst predicts.

A similar point of view is shared by Elena Alekseenkova.

She recalls that Italy is the third economy in the eurozone and one of the leading countries of the union "in terms of political weight", and therefore the current situation in the republic will inevitably affect other EU states.

“The difficult economic situation and foreign policy turbulence played a role in the Italian crisis that we are now witnessing.

It is very likely that something similar will be observed in a number of other EU countries, ”concluded the analyst.