Italy To Decide On Government Future After Salvini Pullout
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published August 12, 2019 | 05:10 PM
Rome, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Aug, 2019 ) :Italian senators are on Monday to take an initial decision on the future of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's government after far-right leader Matteo Salvini plunged the country into turmoil by pulling out of the teetering coalition.
Interior Minister Salvini called last week for swift elections after withdrawing the support of his anti-immigration League party from an increasingly acrimonious alliance with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S).
While the government still remains in place, the Senate must decide whether to initiate a confidence vote in Conte's 14-month-old administration.
The heads of political groupings in the upper house are to meet from 1400 GMT Monday. If they agree to back a no-confidence vote they will then decide on a date.
M5S leader Luigi Di Maio and Salvini will first rally their respective lawmakers, with Salvini hoping for a no-confidence vote by August 20 with elections to follow.
A national vote could come at the end of October to capitalise on opinion polls suggesting the League might get 36-38 percent of votes.
But if the Senate party heads cannot agree, the decision will go to a full Senate vote, which the League is not sure to win as it has only 58 of the 315 elected members.
Salvini has also warned that the League's seven ministers could resign and bring down the government.
Populist leader Salvini effectively ended the ruling alliance on Thursday, saying afterwards he had had enough of working with the M5S and what he said was its refusal to collaborate on key issues.
The two parties have seen a stunning reversal of fortunes since forming a government after the M5S won 32 percent of votes and the League 18 percent in 2018.
Salvini has been taking his message to the beaches at the height of the summer holiday season, seeking to build on the League's strong showing in May's European Parliament elections when it won 34 percent of the vote, twice that of the M5S.
- Electoral pact - But Salvini would still need parliamentary allies to form a government, saying on Monday that he would "in the coming hours" meet former premier Silvio Berlusconi and the head of the extreme-right Brothers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, to "propose an electoral pact".
Tycoon Berlusconi's Forza Italia party and Brothers of Italy could each get 6-8 percent of votes in an election, according to opinion polls.
Salvini has been relentlessly campaigning in southern Italy, the M5S's traditional heartland and far from the League's historic political base in the north.
The social media-loving Salvini, who is also deputy prime minister, has been burnishing his macho-populist image through a series of beach selfies in recent days.
Some voters in the south have been protesting against Salvini, recalling his past diatribes against southern Italians whom he accused of sponging from the state.
Salvini says he wants an election in order to form a stable, five-year government without the constant bickering with M5S, which is politically distant from the League's hardline anti-immigration stance.
He says he wants to implement radical tax cuts and initiate public works projects to kickstart the Italian economy.
- 'Stop the barbarians' - But the M5S is among those opposed to swift elections, with Di Maio calling for parliament first to implement a planned parliamentary reform which would slash the number of lawmakers from 950 to 605.
The M5S's founder, comedian Beppe Grillo, called for a "republican front" to prevent "the barbarians" forming a government.
Former centre-left premier Enrico Letta warned on Sunday that Salvini "has no principles." Letta's successor Matteo Renzi, who governed for the Democratic Party (PD) from 2014-16, called for the formation of a technocrat government to avoid "giving the extreme right our children's future".
The M5S, PD and other parties should support an "institutional government" to pass the parliamentary reform and next year's budget to avoid an automatic rise in VAT which would hit the least well-off the hardest, Renzi said.
Salvini hit out at "dodgy deals" and "palace politics". "I'm called a dictator but a dictator doesn't ask for elections," he said in Sicily.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
PTI to stage nationwide protests against alleged electoral frauds
Senate continues discussion on Presidential address to Joint Sitting of Parliame ..
Masood Khan calls for Pak-US cooperation for regional peace
Interior Minister starts Margalla Trail Patrol for security
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 26 April 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 26 April 2024
ICC Womens T20 World Cup Qualifier, Match 2: Ireland Women open with Comfortable ..
Robinson, bowlers help New Zealand go 2-1 up against Pakistan
Shahzeb Chachar to hold khuli kachehri on April 26
Heatwave amid Israel's aggression in Gaza brings new misery, disease risk
Tourism must change, mayor says as Venice launches entry fee
Court adjourns Judicial Complex attack case till May 17
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
Modern Education Techniques: A pathway to achieve economic development
5 hours ago -
Kite Flying: From cultural festival to deadly sport
5 hours ago -
PDMA predicts gusty wind, rain with thunder, hails
3 days ago -
Iranian president Raisi given guard of honour at PM House
4 days ago -
Intellectuals, writers accolades Naseer Mirza on his literary contribution
5 days ago -
Bahawalpur Adabi Sangat hosts memorable mushaira
5 days ago
-
Cattle farming vital to alleviate poverty in rural areas
5 days ago -
Pakistan: A land of tourism, archeological wonders
5 days ago -
Transforming education sector: from job hunters to job creators
7 days ago -
Amjad Bobby remembered on 19th death anniversary for timeless contributions to music
11 days ago -
Legendary actor Nadeem’s 26 films released on Eid-ul-Fitr days in 50 years
12 days ago -
Besant Hall Cultural Centre to celebrate evening with Sanam Marvi on 26 April
12 days ago