Draghi submitted his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella during a morning meeting at the Quirinale Palace. Mattarella, who rejected a similar resignation offer from the prime minister last week, has “taken note” of the news and asked Draghi’s government to stay on as a caretaker, the president’s office said. While the president could see if a new parliamentary majority was possible, his office indicated he would dissolve the legislature and call early elections. The turmoil couldn’t come at a worse time for the eurozone’s third-largest economy. Like many countries, Italy is facing sharply rising prices for everything from food to household utilities as a result of Moscow’s incursion. In addition, it is also suffering from a prolonged drought that threatens crops and is struggling to implement the EU-funded pandemic recovery programme. Any instability in Italy could ripple through the rest of Europe, also facing economic problems, and deprive the EU of a respected politician as it tries to maintain a united front against Russia. Draghi, who is not a politician but a former central banker, was brought in 17 months ago to deal with the economic downturn caused by COVID-19. But his government of national unity collapsed on Wednesday after members of his uneasy coalition of the right, left and populists rejected his call to come together to complete the natural term of the Italian parliament. Instead, the center-right parties Forza Italia and League and the populist 5-Star Movement boycotted a vote of confidence in the Senate, a clear sign that they are done with Draghi. “Thank you for all the work you have done together during this period,” Draghi told the lower house on Thursday morning before going to see Mattarella. Clearly moved by the applause he received there, he repeated a joke that even central bank chiefs have hearts. Dubbed “Super Mario” for helping steer the eurozone out of its debt crisis when he headed the European Central Bank, Draghi has played a similar calming role in Italy in recent months. His very presence has helped reassure financial markets about the country’s debt-ridden public finances and has managed to keep the country on track with the economic reforms the EU made a condition of its €200 billion pandemic recovery package ( -dollars). He was a staunch supporter of Ukraine and became a leading voice in Europe’s response to Russia’s invasion – one of the issues that contributed to his downfall since the 5 Stars backed Italian military aid to Ukraine. Domestic concerns also played a role. 5 Star, the biggest voters in the 2018 national election, have seen for months that their priorities for a basic income and a minimum wage, among others, have been ignored. The last straw? A decision to give the mayor of Rome extraordinary powers to manage the capital’s rubbish crisis – powers that had been denied to the party’s Virginia Raggi when she was mayor. While unable to hold his fractured coalition together, Draghi appeared to have broad support from the Italian public, many of whom took to the streets or signed open letters in recent weeks to plead with him to stay. Italian newspapers on Thursday were united in their outrage at the surreal outcome, given the difficult times Italy and Europe are going through. “Shame,” was La Stampa’s front page headline. “Italy betrayed,” said La Repubblica. Nicola Nobile, deputy director of Oxford Economics, warned that Draghi’s departure and the prospect that the country would not have a fully functioning government for months could worsen economic turmoil in Italy, which investors worry is over-leveraged. a lot of debt and which is already looking at a sharp slowdown for the second half of the year. Mattarella tapped Draghi to lead Italy out of the pandemic last year. But last week, 5 Star boycotted a confidence vote linked to a bill aimed at helping Italians weather the cost-of-living crisis, prompting Draghi to offer to resign for the first time. Mattarella rejected that offer and asked Draghi to return to Parliament to brief lawmakers on the situation. The prime minister did so on Wednesday, calling on party leaders to listen to calls for unity from ordinary Italians. “You don’t have to give me the answer. You have to give it to all Italians,” he told MPs. While the next steps were unclear, Mattarella appeared likely to dissolve Parliament after a period of consultations, paving the way for elections in late September or early October. The lawmaker’s current five-year term is set to expire in 2023. Mattarella planned to meet with the speakers of the upper and lower houses of Parliament later Thursday, his office said. The announcement cited the article in the Italian Constitution that says the president can dissolve parliament. Polls showed the centre-left Democratic Party and the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, which remained in opposition, are optimistic. Democratic leader Enrico Letta said the parliament had betrayed Italy. “Let the Italians show on the ballot that they are smarter than their representatives,” he tweeted. Italy’s Brothers has long allied with former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini’s League, suggesting a center-right alliance would likely prevail in any election and could push Brothers leader Giorgia Meloni into Italy’s first female prime minister. Meloni, who has been gunning for early elections since before the crisis erupted, was triumphant. “The will of the people is expressed in one way: by voting. Let’s give Italy hope and strength again,” he said. Some commentators have noted that Draghi’s government, which has been among the strongest supporters of Ukraine in Europe, collapsed in large part thanks to political leaders who previously had ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Berlusconi vacationed with Putin and considered him a friend. Salvini opposed EU sanctions against Russia following its annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014. and then there is 5 Star leader Giuseppe Conte’s opposition to Italian military aid to Ukraine. After 5 Star senators boycotted last week’s vote, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio accused Conte of giving Putin a gift.
title: “Italy S Draghi Resigns Spelling Problems For Nation Europe " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-28” author: “Jan Chee”
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi resigned on Thursday after the collapse of his ruling coalition, dealing a destabilizing blow to the country and Europe at a time of severe economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine. Draghi submitted his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella during a morning meeting at the Quirinale Palace. Mattarella, who rejected a similar resignation offer from the prime minister last week, has “taken note” of the news and asked Draghi’s government to stay on as a caretaker, the president’s office said. While the president could see if a new parliamentary majority was possible, his office indicated he would dissolve the body and call early elections. The turmoil couldn’t come at a worse time for the eurozone’s third-largest economy. Like many countries, Italy is facing sharply rising prices for everything from food to household utilities as a result of Moscow’s incursion. In addition, it is also suffering from a prolonged drought that threatens crops and is struggling to implement the EU-funded pandemic recovery programme. Any instability in Italy could ripple through the rest of Europe, also facing economic problems, and deprive the EU of a respected politician as it tries to maintain a united front against Russia. Draghi, who is not a politician but a former central banker, was brought in 17 months ago to deal with the economic downturn caused by COVID-19. But his government of national unity collapsed on Wednesday after members of his uneasy coalition of the right, left and populists rejected his call to come together to complete the natural term of the Italian parliament. Instead, the center-right parties Forza Italia and League and the populist 5-Star Movement boycotted a vote of confidence in the Senate, a clear sign that they are done with Draghi. “Thank you for all the work you have done together during this period,” Draghi told the lower house on Thursday morning before going to see Mattarella. Clearly moved by the applause he received there, he repeated a joke that even central bank chiefs have hearts. Draghi, nicknamed “Super Mario” for helping steer the euro zone out of its debt crisis when he headed the European Central Bank, has played a similarly placating role in Italy in recent months. His very presence has helped reassure financial markets about the country’s debt-ridden public finances and has managed to keep the country on track with the economic reforms the EU made a condition of its €200 billion pandemic recovery package ( -dollars). He has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine and has become a leading voice in Europe’s response to Russia’s invasion — one of the issues that have contributed to his downfall since the 5 Stars backed Italian military aid to Ukraine. Domestic concerns also played a role. 5 Star, the biggest voters in the 2018 national election, have seen for months that their priorities for a basic income and a minimum wage, among others, have been ignored. The last straw? A decision to give the mayor of Rome extraordinary powers to manage the capital’s rubbish crisis — powers that had been denied to the party’s Virginia Raggi when she was mayor. While unable to hold his fractured coalition together, Draghi appeared to have broad support from the Italian public, many of whom took to the streets or signed open letters in recent weeks to plead with him to stay. Italian newspapers on Thursday were united in their outrage at the surreal outcome, given the difficult times Italy and Europe are going through. “Shame,” was La Stampa’s front page headline. “Italy betrayed,” said La Repubblica. Nicola Nobile, deputy director of Oxford Economics, warned that Draghi’s departure and the prospect that the country would not have a fully functioning government for months could worsen economic turmoil in Italy, which investors worry is over-leveraged. a lot of debt and which is already looking at a sharp slowdown for the second half of the year. Mattarella tapped Draghi to lead Italy out of the pandemic last year. But last week, 5 Star boycotted a confidence vote linked to a bill aimed at helping Italians weather the cost-of-living crisis, prompting Draghi to offer to resign for the first time. Mattarella rejected that offer and asked Draghi to return to Parliament to brief lawmakers on the situation. The prime minister did so on Wednesday, calling on party leaders to listen to calls for unity from ordinary Italians. “You don’t have to give me the answer. You have to give it to all Italians,” he told MPs. While the next steps were unclear, Mattarella appeared likely to dissolve Parliament after a period of consultations, paving the way for elections in late September or early October. The current five-year term is due to expire in 2023. Mattarella planned to meet with the speakers of the upper and lower houses of Parliament later Thursday, his office said. The announcement cited the article in the Italian Constitution that says the president can dissolve parliament. Polls showed the centre-left Democratic Party and the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, which remained in opposition, are optimistic. Democratic leader Enrico Letta said the parliament had betrayed Italy. “Let the Italians show on the ballot that they are smarter than their representatives,” he tweeted. Italy’s Brothers has long allied with former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini’s League, suggesting a center-right alliance would likely prevail in any election and could push Brothers leader Giorgia Meloni into Italy’s first female prime minister. Meloni, who has been gunning for early elections since before the crisis erupted, was triumphant. “The will of the people is expressed in one way: by voting. Let us give hope and strength to Italy again,” he said. Some commentators have noted that Draghi’s government, which has been among the strongest supporters of Ukraine in Europe, collapsed in large part thanks to political leaders who previously had ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Berlusconi vacationed with Putin and considered him a friend. Salvini opposed EU sanctions against Russia following its annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014. and then there is 5 Star leader Giuseppe Conte’s opposition to Italian military aid to Ukraine. After 5 Star senators boycotted last week’s vote, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio accused Conte of giving Putin a gift.
