Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte handed in his resignation to the head of state on Tuesday (26), officially paving the way for formal consultations on how to overcome the political crisis, according to President Sergio Mattarella’s office.
According to the presidency’s statement, Conte has been asked to remain in office temporarily while Mattarella begins negotiations with party leaders from this Wednesday (27).
The announcement of Conte’s resignation was anticipated by his cabinet on Monday (25), as was the Prime Minister’s intention to take a step to try to form a new government and stay in power.
The decision to leave was taken as a possible solution to the political crisis that began after the small Italian Viva party of former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi left the coalition. Renzi criticizes the way Conte is handling the health emergency and accuses the Prime Minister of centralizing decisions on how to spend the money granted by the European Union to revive the country’s economy.
In parliamentarism, a government can only function as long as it has a strong coalition of support in parliament. At any time, a party can leave the base in power.
If this exit leaves the government with a very small number of representatives, the prime minister must seek another party to support him and help him get the proposals approved.
Thus, when presenting his resignation to the president, Conte can ask for permission to form a new cabinet. In practice, the Prime Minister will have more space to offer positions to other parties wishing to enter government.