Italy is heading for early elections after its president accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday and decided there was no chance of putting together another government following the rapid collapse of the ruling coalition. The collapse of Draghi’s coalition in the eurozone’s third-largest economy and uncertainty over what Italian voters will decide at the polls have dealt a destabilizing blow to the country and Europe amid rising inflation and Russia’s war in Ukraine. Dissolving Parliament “is always the last option to be taken, especially if, as at the moment, there are important tasks to be completed,” President Sergio Mattarella said in a brief speech at the Quirinal presidential palace, where Draghi had submit his resignation hours. earlier. Mattarella’s office said the election would be held on September 25. He called on political parties to keep in mind the “higher interests” of the nation in their campaigning. Citing rising food and energy prices, he noted that those who suffer the most are always the weakest in society. “The period we are going through does not allow any pause in the decisive interventions to confront the economic and social crisis and in particular the increase in inflation, which brings heavy consequences for families and businesses,” he said. Draghi remained at Mattarella’s request in a watchdog role, ensuring the government can take key steps in the months before a new coalition is formed. But with Italy’s often bickering political parties, it could be weeks before a new government is formed. After the 2018 parliamentary elections, it took 90 days for a new government to be sworn in. Parliament’s five-year term would have ended in March 2023, so the election would effectively be held just six months earlier. Mattarella noted the bad timing for the nation and the continent. But he said he had no choice after Wednesday afternoon, when three key parties in Draghi’s “unity” coalition refused to renew support for a confidence vote. “The debate, the vote and the ways in which that vote was expressed yesterday in the Senate made it evident that parliamentary support for the government was absent and the absence of the prospect of giving life to a new majority” in Parliament, the president said. . Mattarella had rejected a similar resignation offer from Draghi a week earlier. Instability in Italy could ripple through Europe, also facing economic problems. Draghi had taken on the status of a politician as the European Union struggled to maintain a united front against Russia, whose natural gas is largely imported from Italy and other countries. The former European Central Bank president was tapped by Mattarella 17 months earlier to lead Italy’s recovery after its economy was devastated by COVID-19. But this week, his coalition is being sabotaged by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right Forza Italia and two major parties, Matteo Salvini’s right-wing League and the populist 5-Star Movement led by Draghi’s predecessor as prime minister, Giuseppe Conte. . In a brief speech to the lower house of representatives on Thursday before renewing his resignation offer, Draghi appeared moved by applause from lawmakers there, laughing that even central bank chiefs have hearts. Draghi, who was dubbed “Super Mario” for helping steer the euro zone out of its debt crisis when he headed the ECB, has played a similar calming role in Italy in recent months. His presence helped reassure financial markets about the country’s debt-ridden public finances and managed to keep the country on track with economic reforms the EU had made a condition of its €200bn pandemic recovery package (- dollars). He was a staunch supporter of Ukraine, even as the leaders of 5-Star and the League, two powers long favorable to Russia, appeared to be wavering in their support for supplying Kyiv with weapons. Draghi became a leading voice in Europe’s response to Russia’s February 24 invasion. A photo of Draghi, chatting with the leaders of France and Germany on a train to Kyiv, quickly became the iconic image of Italy as one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters. He had pushed for the country’s candidacy for EU membership. While unable to hold his fractured coalition together, Draghi appeared to have widespread support among Italians, many of whom took to the streets or signed open letters in recent weeks to plead with him to stay. Nicola Nobile, deputy director of Oxford Economics, warned that Draghi’s departure and the wait for a new government could worsen economic turmoil in Italy, which investors worry is over-indebted and already eyeing a major slowdown for the second half of the year. Polls showed the centre-left Democratic Party and the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, which remained in opposition, are optimistic. The Brothers of Italy have long allied themselves with the forces of Berlusconi and Salvini. If they remain united in an election campaign, it could sweep the right into power. Giorgia Meloni, who leads the Brothers of Italy, wants to become the country’s first female prime minister. “The will of the people is expressed in one way: by voting. Let us give hope and strength to Italy again,” he said.
title: “Italy S Draghi Resigns After Coalition Failure " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-13” author: “Thad Knudsen”
Italy is heading for early elections after its president accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday and decided there was no chance of putting together another government following the rapid collapse of the ruling coalition. The collapse of Draghi’s coalition in the eurozone’s third-largest economy and uncertainty over what Italian voters will decide at the polls have dealt a destabilizing blow to the country and Europe amid rising inflation and Russia’s war in Ukraine. Dissolving Parliament “is always the last option to be taken, especially if, as at the moment, there are important tasks to be completed,” President Sergio Mattarella said in a brief speech at the Quirinal presidential palace, where Draghi had submit his resignation hours. earlier. Mattarella’s office said the election would be held on September 25. He appealed to political parties to keep in mind the “higher interests” of the nation in their campaigning. Citing rising food and energy prices, he noted that those who suffer the most are always the weakest in society. “The period we are going through does not allow any pause in determining the interventions to confront the economic and social crisis, and in particular the increase in inflation, which brings heavy consequences for families and businesses,” he said. Draghi remained at Mattarella’s request in a watchdog role, ensuring the government can take key steps in the months before a new coalition is formed. But with Italy’s often bickering political parties, it could be weeks before a new government is formed. After the 2018 parliamentary elections, it took 90 days for a new government to be sworn in. Parliament’s five-year term would have ended in March 2023, so the election would effectively be held just six months earlier. Mattarella noted the bad timing for the nation and the continent. But he said he had no choice after Wednesday afternoon, when three key parties in Draghi’s “unity” coalition refused to renew support for a confidence vote. “The debate, the vote and the ways in which that vote was expressed yesterday in the Senate made it evident that parliamentary support for the government was absent and the absence of the prospect of giving life to a new majority” in Parliament, the president said. . Mattarella had rejected a similar resignation offer from Draghi a week earlier. Instability in Italy could ripple through Europe, also facing economic problems. Draghi had taken on the status of a politician as the European Union struggled to maintain a united front against Russia, whose natural gas is largely imported from Italy and other countries. Draghi encouraged his caretaker cabinet to keep its focus on Italy’s pressing problems. “Italy has everything (necessary) to be strong, authoritative, reliable” in the world, Draghi said. The government must deal with the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, inflation and energy costs, as well as move forward with mandatory economic reforms, he said. In the meantime, “let’s get back to work,” he added. The former European Central Bank president was tapped by Mattarella 17 months earlier to lead Italy’s recovery after its economy was devastated by COVID-19. But this week, his coalition is being sabotaged by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right Forza Italia and two major parties, Matteo Salvini’s right-wing League and the populist 5-Star Movement led by Draghi’s predecessor as prime minister, Giuseppe Conte. . In a brief speech to the lower house of representatives on Thursday before renewing his resignation offer, Draghi appeared moved by applause from lawmakers there, laughing that even central bank chiefs have hearts. Dubbed “Super Mario” for helping steer the eurozone out of its debt crisis when he headed the ECB, Draghi has played a similar calming role in Italy in recent months. His presence helped reassure financial markets about the country’s debt-ridden public finances and managed to keep the country on track with economic reforms the EU had made a condition of its €200bn pandemic recovery package (- dollars). He was a staunch supporter of Ukraine, even as the leaders of 5-Star and the League, two powers long favorable to Russia, appeared to be wavering in their support for supplying Kyiv with weapons. Draghi became a leading voice in Europe’s response to Russia’s February 24 invasion. A photo of Draghi, chatting with the leaders of France and Germany on a train to Kyiv, quickly became the iconic image of Italy as one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters. He had pushed for the country’s candidacy for EU membership. While unable to hold his fractured coalition together, Draghi appeared to have widespread support among Italians, many of whom took to the streets or signed open letters in recent weeks to plead with him to stay. Nicola Nobile, deputy director of Oxford Economics, warned that Draghi’s departure and the wait for a new government could worsen economic turmoil in Italy, which investors worry is over-indebted and already eyeing a major slowdown for the second half of the year. Polls showed the centre-left Democratic Party and the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, which remained in opposition, are optimistic. The Brothers of Italy have long allied themselves with the forces of Berlusconi and Salvini. If they stay united in an election campaign, it could sweep the right into power. Giorgia Meloni, who leads the Brothers of Italy, wants to become the country’s first female prime minister. “The will of the people is expressed in one way: by voting. Let’s give hope and strength back to Italy,” he said.
