After his speech in the Senate, Draghi still has to face a vote of confidence.
(Photo: Reuters)
Rome After his failed resignation bid, Mario Draghi is ready to stay on as Italian prime minister. In a speech in the Senate on Wednesday, however, he called on the recently quarreling government parties to unite behind him and the executive. A vote of confidence in the smaller of the two chambers of Parliament is scheduled for the evening.
Draghi does not yet see the end of his divided coalition. This could be restored, he explained. Draghi allayed fears that he might leave the government. Markets recovered following his comments.
Stocks and bonds came under pressure last week after Draghi said he wanted to resign because he did not have the support of all parties in his coalition. Italy is the third largest economy in the euro zone and also highly indebted, which is why political developments in Rome are of great importance for the monetary union.
The trigger for the crisis was the lack of confidence in Draghi’s cabinet by the five-star movement, which was part of the governing body, when the Senate voted on a multi-billion dollar aid package. Although his government received the necessary majority even without the star votes, according to Draghi the “pact of trust” was broken.
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>>Read here: Italy’s government crisis becomes a test for the ECB
He then offered his resignation, but Head of State Sergio Mattarella refused and sent him to Parliament to justify himself there. The Five Star Movement, shaken by the low in the polls and leaving the party, then demanded that Draghi respond to their political demands. According to the media, another split is now threatening in the populist party of the lawyer Giuseppe Conte.
Draghi had offered the President his resignation last week.
(Photo: dpa)
It could be difficult for Draghi to reunite the old alliance of parties from left to right. He made participation by the Five Stars a condition of any government under him to the very end. She would be a counterweight in the cabinet to the otherwise strong populist Lega party led by right-wing politician Matteo Salvini. However, he and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia do not want to continue governing with Conte.
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