The collapse of the Italian government has been averted for the time being – but for how long is questionable. Prime Minister Mario Draghi won the confidence vote in the Senate on Wednesday evening. In a speech that was very emotional for him, the former ECB President had previously called on the government parties, which had recently been completely at odds, to stand behind the government.
Both Forza Italia, led by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and the right-wing Lega, led by former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, left the hall before the vote began. The Five Stars also boycotted the vote. In the meantime, even the quorum of the chamber was in question. Although this was achieved, since Draghi missed the desired majority, it is likely that he could again offer his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella.
The parliamentary session dragged on for hours. The situation was extremely complicated. This Thursday, there should actually be another vote in the Chamber of Deputies, the first chamber of the Italian Parliament, whose powers are roughly comparable to those of the Bundestag.
For the past year and a half, Draghi has led a very broad coalition that includes numerous parties from both the centre-left and the Italian right.
President Mattarella had asked Draghi to seek a new government majority
Last week, the left-wing populist, EU-skeptical Cinque Stelle party opposed Draghi in a vote on an aid package in the crisis. In the end, it was just a matter of detail. The Cinque Stelle, however, are extremely nervous because parliamentary elections are due next year at the latest and the party is threatened with a debacle after numerous splits and internal party disputes.
Draghi, who was formerly President of the European Central Bank and is highly regarded both in his own country and internationally, initially submitted his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella after the protests of the Cinque Stelle. However, he rejected the request and called on the 74-year-old head of government to seek a new government majority in parliament.
Draghi would definitely get that because of his popularity. But he is counting on support that is as broad as it was at the beginning of his reign. Draghi said he couldn’t ignore the support he’d received over the past few days. That’s why he wants to propose the pact for a coalition again. “It’s you who decides,” he called out to the senators. Draghi also justified the fact that his government was unable to respond to certain wishes of individual members of his multi-party government.
The co-ruling right-wing party Lega and the conservative Forza Italia had previously requested a vote of confidence on a motion that would see a government without the Five Star Movement. The centre-right bloc blamed the populist centre-left party for triggering the government crisis.