Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has announced his resignation. He said this on Thursday, July 14, in the Council of Ministers. However, President Sergio Mattarella did not accept the Prime Minister’s resignation.
According to the Italian edition La Repubblica, Draghi took this step because there was a split in the coalition.
“I want to announce that tonight I am submitting my resignation to the hands of the President of the Republic,” said Prime Minister Mario Draghi, speaking at the Council of Ministers.
Prior to this Thursday, Draghi survived a no-confidence vote in the Italian Senate, but the future of his government was called into question by a boycott of the vote by the coalition’s key ally, the populist Five Star Movement.
Five Star declined to vote on an important executive order to bail out thousands of families and businesses, part of a bill to ease soaring energy prices that was linked to a vote of confidence. Five Star leader, former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte accused the Prime Minister of not doing enough to overcome the social crisis associated with rising energy prices.
Leading up to the vote, on Wednesday, July 13, the leadership of the 5 Star Movement met to decide whether to remain in the coalition. And already in the evening, Conte announced that his party would not participate in the vote.
Despite the Five Star boycott, the aid package was approved by the Italian Senate, but the populist boycott poses a clear threat to Draghi’s government.
Mario Draghi himself has repeatedly said that he will lead only a government of national unity and will not continue without Five Star, which was the largest party in parliament before the split last month.
In a July 14 statement, Draghi stressed that the confidence pact backed by the government of national unity was gone.
A little later it became known that Italian President Sergio Mattarella did not accept the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi. This, in particular, was reported by the publication lastampa.
Recall that Mario Draghi took over as Prime Minister of Italy on February 13, 2021.
