Italy: Premier to step down Tuesday amid government crisis

ROME

Italy’s prime minister is set to tell his Cabinet ministers Tuesday of his intention to step down, and then will submit his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella, a statement from Giuseppe Conte’s office said late Monday.

Conte was forced into a government crisis after losing his parliamentary majority last week, as former Premier Matteo Renzi pulled his tiny centrist party from the fragile ruling coalition.

Conte survived a key vote of confidence in the Senate last week, but got only a thin majority, further weakening his leadership and obliging him to desperately seek new allies in parliament.

The attempt to stay in power, however, failed after a few independent lawmakers and small parliamentary groups denied their support to Conte’s cabinet.

The sudden government crisis plunges Italy into further political chaos, just as the country battles a second pandemic wave and the worst economic recession since World War II.

Now Mattarella is faced with a few options. Although he holds the sole power to dissolve chambers and call new elections, this remains the least likely scenario, since he is wary of holding a general election amid a pandemic and ahead of key political decisions.

The most likely option is that Mattarella will try to use his moral suasion to help cobble together a “transition” or "national unity" government, supported by a wider majority and able to lead Italy out of the pandemic and economic emergency.