The Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, this Friday (29) closed the negotiations with the party leaders to try to find a solution to the political crisis that had in the resignation of Prime Minister Giuseppe Tell his last chapter.
Since Wednesday (27), Mattarella has tested Italy’s political waters and, given the alternatives of trying to form a new coalition with Conte in power, the appointment of a new leader capable of bringing together the majority of parliamentarians or to call an early election, has shown signs of who is inclined to stick with the first option.
The Italian president said he believed the shattered coalition could still be revived and underlined the urgency of reaching an early resolution so that Italy does not lack leadership amid the economic and health crises caused by the pandemic. coronavirus.
Earlier on Friday evening, Mattarella summoned Roberto Fico, head of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, for a conversation, fueling hopes that he would ask the political leader to negotiate the dialogue between the parties that formed the ruling coalition in order to ‘help resolve their differences. .
The resignation of the Prime Minister last Tuesday (26) was the result of a political maneuver which could, despite his departure, return to power, but on the shoulders of a new coalition.
Now acting prime minister, he said he had no choice but to quit his post after the small Italia Viva party, led by former prime minister Matteo Renzi, abandoned the government boat by harsh criticism Tale.
The departure of Renzi’s party left the coalition that kept Conte in power without an absolute majority in the Senate, which in practice would compromise the country’s governance.
So playing within the rules of parliamentarism, Conte opted for resignation in order to return to power supported by a new alliance of parties, as he did himself in 2019.
But a repeat of the feat this time is not guaranteed. Conte even made efforts to bring in independent and central senators into the coalition to fill the void left by Renzi, but that was unsuccessful – indicating that if he wants to return to the post where he resigned, he will certainly need help from Italy. Living.
Renzi criticizes the way Conte is handling the response to the coronavirus pandemic – which has infected 2.5 million people and caused more than 87,000 deaths in Italy – and accuses the prime minister of centralizing decisions on how to spend the allocated resources by the European Union on the economic recovery plan for the post-pandemic period.
As a result, a deadlock has been created that, in theory, President Mattarella has attempted to resolve over the past three days. Conte says he doesn’t want any more alliances with Renzi, but without his support his return is not viable.
Trying to soften the differences between the two, it is Vito Crimi, leader of the Five Star Movement, a party that positions itself as an anti-system. The legend is one of the pillars of the coalition supporting Conte and was responsible for his appointment as Prime Minister in 2018.
“We express our desire to create a political government based on the coalition forces that have worked together for a year and a half,” Crimi said on Friday, after meeting with Mattarella.
Although he has declared himself willing to resume the links between Conte and Renzi, Crimi defends the permanence of the former as Prime Minister, a position which the latter refuses to approve.
The attempt to reconcile with Renzi, however, generated friction within the Five Stars. Alessandro Di Battista, one of the main names of the party, said that, facing an alliance with Renzi, he could leave the legend.
“I have not changed position. If I return to the previous position [de apoio a Conte], I’m in. Otherwise, it’s goodbye and thank you, ”he said.
The center-left Democratic Party (PD), another pillar of Conte’s coalition, has maintained its support for a new term for the prime minister, however acknowledging that this expectation is far from being fulfilled without a reconciliation with Renzi and its broken.
Meanwhile, in the conservative wing of Italian politics, right-wing parties are calling on Mattarella to give up forming a new coalition and call early elections.
“We confirm to the president our request to consider the option of dissolving Parliament and calling elections,” Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right Northern League party, said after meeting with the leader of the State.
Representing an alliance of right-wing parties, Salvini hinted at the risk of a split in Italian politics, saying each party would make its own decision on how to react if Mattarella tried to install a new government without elections.