Italian President Sergio Mattarella refused to accept Prime Minister (PM) Mario Draghi’s resignation, instead asking him to address the Parliament and subsequently assess the political situation.
A statement by the Presidency said that Mattarella has “invited the Prime Minister to appear before Parliament to make communications” and assess the situation “in its proper forum.”
Complying with the President’s directions, Draghi will address the parliament next week Wednesday. He could also face a confidence vote next week. His ability to survive the trust vote remains doubtful, as one of his biggest coalition partners, the 5-Star Movement, has indicated that it could withdraw from the ruling coalition. If the PM fails to gather enough support, the country could be forced to hold elections as early as September.
Italy's president rejected the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi after a day of political drama that threatened to bring down a national unity government that has been in office less than 18 months https://t.co/EPsMEOloK8 pic.twitter.com/Oi1cDNdInP
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 15, 2022
Draghi submitted his resignation on Thursday night after the 5-Star Movement refused to support the ruling government in a vote on a policy to address the cost-of-living crisis in Italy with a $26 billion fund to help households and businesses. The coalition partner, however, said the amount proposed was insufficient.
During Thursday’s debate, 5-Star Senator Maria Domenica Castellone said, “We are opposed to this decree in the term of method and substance, in particular regarding the incinerator. It's madness.”
The relief bill allows authorities to set up an incinerator to manage waste in Rome and set up a waste-to-energy plant, prompting 5-Star chief and former PM Giuseppe Conte to announce that the party would boycott Thursday’s vote. The party has opposed the plan to set up a waste-to-energy plant in Rome citing environmental concerns and has instead advocated for a stronger focus on recycling.
Mario Draghi’s resignation as Italy's PM provides a huge headache for the EU which has enjoyed having a known entity in Rome.
— Jack Parrock (@jackeparrock) July 14, 2022
But it also highlights Italy’s political leadership conundrum.
Even the strongest bulbs will blow when plugged into an over-charged circuit 💡💥🇮🇹. https://t.co/VJkIA0r725
While the policy was ultimately approved, with 172 voting in favour and merely 39 opposing, the 5-Star Movement’s decision to boycott the vote threatened a collapse of the government.
In this respect, Draghi said, “I want to announce that this evening I will present my resignation to the President of the Republic.” He said that the vote was “very significant from a political point of view,” stressing that the 5-Star Movement’s decision indicates that “the pact of trust underlying the government’s action has failed.”
The PM emphasised that he had had the “utmost commitment” to a “common path” between coalition parties but the vote had shown that “this effort was not enough.” He added, “From my inauguration speech I have always said that this executive would only go forward if there was a clear prospect of being able to carry out the government programme on which the political forces had voted their confidence.”
Italian prime minister Mario Draghi announces his resignation. He played a crucial role in ensuring Italy's delivery of weapons to Ukraine and rallied other leaders around supporting Ukraine's EU candidacy bid. Yet another bad news for Ukraine in the end of this terrible day
— Olga Tokariuk (@olgatokariuk) July 14, 2022
Draghi has previously said that he would not lead a coalition without the support of the 5-Star Movement. While he was ready to make compromises in the policy, such as introducing a minimum wage, he said that the government’s unity would be “lost” if he complied with ultimatums by coalition partners.
However, several political parties supported President Mattarella’s decision to reject PM Draghi’s resignation. Renato Brunetta, the Minister for Public Administration and a leader of the Go Italy party, said that the country “cannot do without Draghi.”
Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said that the 5 Star Movement, which he was previously a member of before breaking away in June to form the Together for the Future party, had acted irresponsibly by boycotting the vote and was “condemning the country to the abyss.”
#Eurozone rocked by #Italy’s pol crisis. Mario Draghi wanted to let Rome build new waste incinerator to address garbage crisis. His plan was fiercely opposed by 5 Star. PM won confidence vote, but handed in his resignation to President Mattarella who rejected Draghi’s resignation pic.twitter.com/To5SNAXDUZ
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) July 15, 2022
Di Maio’s party also released a statement celebrating Draghi as a “precious and fundamental” political leader and vowed to work to ensure a “solid majority” in the parliament.
However, the sole opposition party, the far-right Brothers of Italy, has called for “immediate elections,” with party leader Giorgia Meloni saying, “This nation is in a storm.”
Draghi’s centre-right coalition partners have also joined in criticising the PM. League leader Matteo Salvini reiterated the call for fresh elections and spoke of “full harmony within the centre-right alliance.”
Draghi took over as the PM in 2021 and was given the herculean task of facilitating recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, particularly to responsibly utilise the European Union’s Covid recovery package. He was seen as an apt appointment for this role given his experience as the president of the European Central Bank from 2011 to 2019.