Italyʼs president has refused to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who has announced his intention to step down because the Italian government no longer enjoys the support of "national unity".
This was reported by Corriere della Sera.
"In my inaugural speech in the parliament, I said that this executive will only move forward if there is a clear prospect of implementing the government program that the political forces have voted for," Draghi said.
His governmentʼs performance faced a dilemma when coalition partner Five Star refused to take part in a vote of confidence in the government.
Five Star leader Giuseppe Conte accused the prime minister of not doing enough to tackle the social crisis caused by rising energy prices.
Representatives of Five Star refused to vote for the governmentʼs draft law on assistance to Italians due to disagreement with some of its articles.
Despite the Five Star boycott, the Italian Senate approved the aid package. However, Draghi has repeatedly said that he will only lead a government of national unity and will not continue without Five Star, which was the largest party in parliament until last month, before the split.
- Bloomberg notes that the collapse of the coalition could lead to early elections in the fall, but some parties will seek to avoid this. Elections have never been held in the country in the summer, because according to the countryʼs Constitution, the new state budget must be formed already in mid-autumn. That is, elections in the summer will make it impossible to negotiate a new budget before the deadline.