Government crisis in Italy: Mario Draghi loses the support of the 5 Star Movement and could fall

The Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, appeared this Thursday before the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, after one of the main partners of his coalition, the 5-star movement (M5S), withdrew his support in a Senate motion, leaving the government hanging by a thread.

Draghi’s national unity government entered this Thursday in crisis after the M5S, a member of the alliance, did not support in the Senate the conversion of a decree with aid against inflationdistancing himself from the rest of his allies.

The text was presented as a motion of confidence to the Government, a technique used in Italy to speed up the parliamentary process, because it avoids the imposition of amendments, but which did not encourage the M5S to vote for it and they were absent, leaving Draghi.

Tensions with the M5S

The M5S, which has just suffered a hard crack, he maintained strong tensions with Draghi in recent times, for example by opposing continue to arm the Ukrainian resistance and now for this decree with aid for 26,000 million euros they see “insufficient”.

Although many believe this is just an excuse to get out of the coalition and try to win back his electorate before the end of the legislature, in March 2023.

Draghi had said his national unity government would only make sense with the M5S.

For this reason, as soon as the outcome of the vote in the Senate is known, Draghi left the Roman Palazzo Chigi, seat of the Government, to go to the Quirinale, seat of the Head of State and meet Mattarella, from which in February 2021 he received the task of governing.

The alternatives

The goal is explain the situation and look for alternativeswhich would range from his resignation, to the reformulation of his government – today he voted against the Minister of Agriculture, Stefano Patuanelli, of the M5S -, to a new investiture or even early elections.

The partners still loyal to his coalition, Pd by Enrico Letta, Lega by Matteo Salvini, Italia Viva by Matteo Renzo and Forza Italia by Silvio Berlusconi asked Draghi to “verify” whether it still holds the majority of the House.

To be sure, the march of the M5S it does not leave Draghi in the minority and indeed the decree was approved with 172 votes in favor and 39 againstbut the prime minister has always expressed the will to continue to count on that very important party.

EFE

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