The President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, will receive this Thursday the Presidents of the Chambers and studies the call for early elections, after accepting the resignation of the Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, kept in office for current business.
(You may be interested: Mario Draghi, Italian Prime Minister, resigned from his post)
Mattarella “will receive the presidents of the Chambers in the Quirinal Palace in the afternoon, in accordance with article 88 of the Constitution”, referring to the dissolution of Parliament prior to the calling of elections, it is indicated in a brief statement from the Head of state.
Draghi went to Mattarella to present his resignation after three of the partners of his coalition of national unity, the conservative Forza Italia (FI) of Silvio Berlusconi, the far-right League of Matteo Salvini and the populist 5 Star Movement (M5S) of Giuseppe Conte, they will withdraw their support in a confidence motion this Wednesday in the Senate.
The article of the Magna Carta mentioned by the Head of State indicates: “The President of the Republic can, after consulting its presidents, dissolve the Chambers and even only one of them. He cannot exercise such power in the last six months of their term, unless they coincide in whole or in part with their last six terms in the legislature.
The dissolution of the Chambers is only contemplated in the event of an election call and Mattarella began his second term as head of state last January.
(Italy: the scenarios after Prime Minister Mario Draghi left office)
The president of the Senate, Elisabetta Casellati, will go to see Mattarella at 4:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. GMT), while the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Roberto Fico, will be received at the headquarters of the Head of State half an hour later, at 5:00 p.m.
Early elections could be held in late September or early October, because the Constitution establishes a maximum term of 70 days for its convocation.
The Italian media considered that the announcement of the dissolution of the Chambers could take a few days to arrive, possibly during the weekend, so that they could be held in October, although the speed of the Head of State in summoning the presidents of the Chambers makes to think that maybe they will convene right away.
“Thank you, even the central bankers use their hearts. Thank you for this and for what we have done together,” an emotional Draghi said before going to the Quirinal this morning when he was received with applause and with numerous deputies standing up.
Draghi will return to the Lower House at 12:00 noon (10:00 GMT) and will close the parliamentary process that began this Wednesday in the Senate at the request of Mattarella, who last Thursday rejected his resignation for abandoning the M5S and urged him to go to the Parliament to try to rebuild the government coalition.
The prime minister went to the Senate this Wednesday to try to rebuild the coalition of national unity that supported him and won the motion with 95 votes in favor and 38 against -although only 133 of the total of 320 senators voted-, but ended up losing the support of the M5S, FI and the League.
The economist led a coalition of national unity since February 2021 in which almost all the parties in the hemicycle were, except Giorgia Meloni’s ultra Brothers of Italy.
Last week the crisis broke out in his coalition after the M5S did not vote on a confidence motion, distancing himself from the rest of his partners, which pushed Draghi to present a resignation that he confirmed this Thursday.
(You can read: Italy: Draghi loses majority in Parliament)
The reactions
In recent days, unions, employers, numerous associations of all kinds and even the Catholic Church had encouraged Draghi’s continuation due to the ongoing economic, energy and social crisis.
For this reason, the fall of “Super Mario”, called to save Italy in February 2021 at a time of social, economic and health crisis, has generated strong reactions throughout the peninsula.
“Italy betrayed”, headlined the newspaper La Repubblica, while La Stampa, a newspaper close to the industrialists, limited itself to writing “Shame” full page.
According to polls, most Italians want Draghi to stay in office, one reason he backed down on Wednesday and did not confirm his first resignation.
The right
Now, the right-wing formations that were part of the Executive hope to win the elections and they decided to overthrow the prime minister under the pretext of not wanting to govern together with the 5-Star Movement anymore.
For their part, the anti-system, which opened the crisis last week, consider that several points of the laws proposed by Draghi are contrary to his principles and that all the measures taken during his previous government have been dismantled.
The end of the unity Executive could above all benefit the right-wing coalition led by the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) party, led by Giorgia Meloni, who according to the polls would comfortably win the early elections.
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“We are ready. This nation desperately needs to regain its conscience, its pride and its freedom,” Giorgia Meloni, 45, a veteran far-right leader who could become Italy’s future head of government, wrote on Thursday in a tweet. .
A perspective that worries Europeans, given that their party, the Brothers of Italy, with 24% of the voting intentions, advocates a revision of the European Union treaties and even their replacement by a “confederation of sovereign states “.
The European Commissioner for Economy, the Italian Paolo Gentiloni, considered “irresponsible” the defection of the coalition parties, while Brussels and its European partners pressed for Draghi to remain in office.
The markets are carefully watching the situation. Italy’s cost of debt rose again and the Milan Stock Exchange closed down 1.6% on Wednesday, a sign of nervousness over uncertainty in the euro zone’s third-largest economy.
*With information from AFP and Efe
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