ROME –
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi won a confidence vote in the Senate on Thursday, but the future of his anti-pandemic unity government was in doubt after the populist 5-Star Movement boycotted the vote, leading to his coalition to a crisis.
The vote was 172-39 on a relief bill to help Italians facing rising energy costs, but the 5-star senators were absent after confirming they would not participate.
Draghi met with president Sergio Mattarella later on Thursday to decide on next steps, including a possible resignation offer. Draghi has repeatedly made it clear that populists were among the coalition partners who signed up to be part of his government last year and that he would not continue without them.
Mattarella could accept or reject any resignation from Draghi. The president could also ask Draghi to appear before parliament in the coming days to seek a formal vote on the government itself, to see if the ranks of the feuding allies would join him.
Parliament’s term expires in the spring of 2023. If Mattarella cannot find a solution so that Draghi’s government can continue, he is expected to dissolve the legislature and call early elections, which could take place at the end of September.
Mattarella had turned to the former head of the European Central Bank, known as “Super Mario” for his bailout of the euro “whatever it takes”, to pull Italy out of the coronavirus pandemic and lay the groundwork for making use of billions in funds. recovery from the pandemic in the European Union.
The 5 Stars had joined Draghi’s broad coalition of national unity, which included parties from both the right and the left.
But the 5 Stars, who have lost significant support in recent years, have complained that their interests have been ignored. In the measure voted on Thursday, the 5 Star Movement opposed a provision that would allow Rome to operate a garbage incinerator on the outskirts of the Italian capital, chronically suffocated by garbage.
That article was just part of a bill that cuts taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, as well as extends utility bill relief to struggling Italians, but 5-Star leader Giuseppe Conte he cited the provision in announcing Wednesday night that his lawmakers would boycott voting.
In Thursday’s debate, several senators criticized Conte’s decision.
Being in government “is not like taking a menu and deciding, antipasto, no, ice cream, yes,” said Emma Bonino, who heads a tiny pro-Europe party.
Others noted that Draghi had become an increasingly pivotal figure in Europe as Russia waged war against Ukraine, especially with the imminent departure of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
An ally of center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister, argued in the Senate that the collapse of Draghi’s government could trigger “the destabilization of Europe.”
“I would be doing (Russian President Vladimir) Putin a favor,” Senator Antonio Saccone thundered.
Draghi has governed with the support of virtually every major party in Italy, with the exception of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, which has demanded that Mattarella pull the plug on parliament and give Italians a chance to vote for new leaders. .
But Giovanni Orsina, a history professor and director of the government school at Rome’s LUISS university, said Mattarella would want to avoid calling snap elections and would probably ask Draghi to go to parliament to see if he can get a new viable majority.
“We have the pandemic, we have the war, we have inflation, we have the energy crisis. So this is certainly not a good time,” Orsina said. “And also because Mattarella rightly believes that his mission is to safeguard stability.”
Among Draghi’s achievements is keeping Italy up to date with the reforms that the EU has made a condition for the country to receive 200 billion euros in pandemic recovery assistance. Much of that EU funding is already earmarked and subject to automatic mechanisms, suggesting funding will not be lost, even amid government instability.
“But of course the fact that Draghi with his prestige, international prestige, is not behind it, is going to have some nice consequences,” Orsina said.
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Nicole Winfield and Paolo Santalucia contributed.