Italian Prime Minister resigned after collapse of coalition

The Italian Government will change again in the next couple of months. 14 months after elections, the Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte submitted his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella. The decision was taken after the collapse of the party’s coalition between Five Star Movement (M5S) and Lega.

Italian Prime Minister resigned

Yesterday evening, Conte spoke on the Senate following a week of fallout from Salvini’s dramatic decision to back out of the alliance on 8 August. In his speech, Conte said that Salvini was “irresponsible” to spark the political crisis by pulling the plug on the governing coalition. “It is irresponsible to initiate a government crisis,” Conte said, “it shows personal and party interests.” For less than an hour, the ex-Prime Minister explained what has been done by the Government and what it is necessary to do in the future.

The President Sergio Mattarella has to decide now what is the best strategy to follow to solve the political crisis. Since the government was formed in June 2018, uncertainty under the coalition has cost the country an extra €5 billion in interest on its debt, according to one financial daily.

Deal or snap election?

Conte’s resignation puts an end to Italy’s 65th post-war government, and officially opened the way for consultations to find a replacement. Matteo Salvini, who was also deputy prime minister, hopes to trigger early elections, which polls suggest his League party and right-wing allies could win. A snap election could come at the end of October and allow Salvini to capitalise on polls suggesting the League might get 36-38% of votes. The other parts of the political spectrum want to create a new government. Romano Prodi, the former centre-left premier and ex-president of the European Commission, for example, has proposed a new government involving M5S, the PD and Forza Italia.