Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is set to resign on Tuesday, according to a government spokesman, exacerbating political instability that could lead to quick elections in a country struggling to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and revive its economy.
Mr Conte resigned after losing a government majority in Italy’s Senate earlier this month after a battle with a small coalition alliance over how the EU spends massive funds to help Italy recover. to the impact of the pandemic. His resignation has sparked a search for a new government majority, but if none is found, then the EU’s third-largest economy will hold elections in the coming months.
The collapse of the Italian left-wing government shows that European political challenges in recent years – including the fragmentation of the political landscape and the rise of anti-establishment parties – have not disappeared, despite pressure from the pandemic on European politicians to work together across party lines.
Mr Conte chaired an awkward coalition, led by the founding center-left Democratic Party and the 5-Star Insurgent Populist Movement, an alliance aimed mainly at avoiding elections that opinion polls suggest will be won by the Nationalist League party. Few people in Italy expected the government to last long, although the pandemic for a while increased Mr Conte’s authority.
Finally, a small centrist faction, led by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, withdrew support for Mr Conte, citing dissatisfaction with his lack of consultation on how to spend the more than € 200 billion in economic recovery funds. of the allocated EU. for Italy.