Early official results from the Italian interior ministry confirm exit poll suggestions that the rightwing coalition led by Brothers of Italy could win enough seats to form a government
The vote was triggered when the Five Star Movement abruptly withdrew its support for Mario Draghi’s technocratic government, but an election was due next year in any event.
Continue reading...Brothers of Italy leads far-right alliance in pole position for snap summer election
When the far right took power in Ladispoli, a beach town near Rome, in 2017, ending 20 years of leftwing administration, among its priorities was naming a square after Giorgio Almirante, a minister in Benito Mussolini’s dictatorship and founder of the neofascist Italian Social Movement (MSI).
Protests from anti-fascist groups failed to thwart the plan, and in 2019 the nameplate was unveiled during a ceremony that included a blessing from the priest of the church on the same square. Almirante was described by mayor Alessandro Grando, who won a second term in June, as “the father of Italian rightwing socialism and point of reference for many Italians”.
Continue reading...Former European Central Bank chief had failed to secure support from coalition partners in confidence vote
Italy’s prime minister, Mario Draghi, is expected to confirm his resignation after three key parties in his broad coalition did not participate in a confidence vote on the conditions he set for his government continuing.
The former European Central Bank chief told the senate earlier on Wednesday that the survival of his unity administration hinged on “rebuilding the pact of trust” and spirit of cooperation of its early months, and asked for a vote on this basis.
Continue reading...President Sergio Mattarella rejects the prime minister’s resignation while pro-Draghi sentiment grows
The fate of the Italian government hangs in the balance amid growing pressure on Mario Draghi to remain prime minister as he prepares for a crucial speech in parliament on Wednesday.
The former European Central Bank chief’s resignation last week was rejected by President Sergio Mattarella, who instead asked him to address parliament in an attempt to avert what would be Italy’s third government collapse in three years.
Continue reading...Crisis driven by decision of coalition partner Five Star to sit out confidence vote
Italy’s coalition government is teetering on the brink of collapse after the Five Star Movement refused to participate in a confidence vote, raising the spectre of a snap general election.
Five Star, headed by the former prime minister Giuseppe Conte, is a formerly anti-establishment party that has plummeted in the polls and lost parliamentarians since joining the government, hurt by policy U-turns and internal divisions.
Continue reading...Current mayor Virginia Raggi lags third behind Brothers of Italy and Democratic party
The mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, is in danger of being ousted in local elections, according to exit polls, which showed a far-right candidate ahead in the race for Italy’s capital.
Raggi was hoping to win a second mandate, but exit polls place her in third position with between 16.5% and 20.5% of the vote.
Continue reading...Protests, citizens’ assemblies, local referendums and mutual aid groups are pushing back against attacks on civil society
The past decade has been a bruising one for the health of European democracy. The dramatic authoritarian turns in Hungary and Poland have attracted most attention, but nearly all European governments have chipped away at civil liberties, judicial independence and civil society.
With Covid accentuating many of the challenges posed by populism, disinformation and a collapse in public trust, the narrative of democracy labouring in deep crisis is now well established. Yet as the threats have mounted, so have efforts to defend and rethink Europe’s democratic practices.
Continue reading...President Sergio Mattarella forced to abandon dedication after officials noticed mistake on stone plaque
The Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, was forced to abandon a ceremony dedicating a road in Rome to one of his predecessors, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, after officials noticed the name on the stone plaque was misspelled.
Instead of “Azeglio”, the street marker said “Azelio”. Mattarella had already turned up to the event on Tuesday, alongside members of Ciampi’s family and the mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, before the embarrassing mistake was noticed, with the lettering showing up clearly through the translucent cloth covering the plaque.
Continue reading...Letta to lead second largest party in Draghi government as Giuseppe Conte in talks to lead Five Star Movement
A former Italian prime minister, Enrico Letta, has been elected leader of the centre-left Democratic party (PD), the second largest party in Mario Draghi’s government, as another former prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, was in talks to become leader of the Five Star Movement (M5S), its largest.
Letta takes over from Nicola Zingaretti, who abruptly quit the party’s leadership earlier this month over what he called an “unending stream” of criticism, and was elected on Sunday with 860 votes in favour and two against.
Continue reading...Media speculations suggest former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi could become prime minister
Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella, has said he would seek a “high profile” government, as speculation grew that it may be led by the former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi.
Mattarella made the announcement after ruling coalition partners failed to form a majority following Giuseppe Conte’s resignation as prime minister last week.
Continue reading...Prime minister to meet with coalition party leaders as Italia Viva threatens to quit in dispute over Covid-19 fund
The fate of the Italian government hangs in the balance this week amid a confrontation between the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, and his coalition ally and former prime minister, Matteo Renzi.
Renzi has repeatedly threatened to pull his small Italia Viva party from the ruling majority unless the government changes tack on how to reboot Italy’s fragile economy. Renzi has also called for Conte to relinquish his control over the secret services and for the government to speed up the distribution of Covid-19 vaccinations.
Continue reading...Italian foreign minister’s move is sign of turmoil between coalition partners M5S and PD
The Italian foreign minister and former leader of the Five Star Movement (M5S) is calling for protests this weekend against the government he sits in, as Italy appears set for another period of political instability.
Luigi Di Maio said the Italian people “must peacefully demonstrate” in Rome on Saturday against a system that “wants to cancel our laws”.
Continue reading...Left’s win in Emilia-Romagna averts threat of snap elections but could prove a brief reprieve
Matteo Salvini’s failure to overturn decades of leftwing rule in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna will bring some respite to the embattled national government, staving off the risk of snap elections.
The leader of the far-right League campaigned vigorously across the region in his attempt to use elections on Sunday as a platform for his return to power. But a high turnout ensured the Democratic party (PD), which rules nationally alongside the Five Star Movement (M5S), maintained control.
Continue reading...League’s Matteo Salvini has failed to wrest crucial Emilia-Romagna from centre-left, projections suggest
Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy’s far-right League party, has failed to overturn decades of leftwing rule in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna in an election that brought relief to the embattled centre-left.
With 98% of the ballots counted, the incumbent Democratic party (PD) governor Stefano Bonaccini had won 51.4% of the vote compared to 43.7% for Lucia Borgonzoni, the candidate backed by the League and its allies, interior ministry data showed.
Continue reading...League leader hopes to secure political comeback via votes in Emilia-Romagna and Calabria
The far-right Italian politician Matteo Salvini has threatened to “evict” the national government if his coalition triumphs in two regional elections.
Italian newspapers reported a “boom” in turnout – up 23% in the wealthy northern region of Emilia-Romagna and 10% in Calabria, in the south – by midday, as voters headed to the polls in elections that could precipitate a return to national power for Salvini’s League.
Continue reading...Many blame M5S’s Virginia Raggi for a drastic decline in the city’s services
The mayor of Rome is under pressure to resign as trade unions join forces for the Italian capital’s first major general strike on Friday over the dire state of services in the city.
Virginia Raggi, a politician with the Five Star Movement (M5S), the party ruling nationally alongside the centre-left Democratic party, won mayoral elections in June 2016 on a promise to make the city “liveable again”.
Continue reading...EU ministers pledge support as 82 disembark from NGO boat, ending Salvini’s entry ban
Eighty-two migrants have disembarked in Italy, marking a break from the era of hardline immigration measures pushed by the former interior minister, Matteo Salvini.
On Saturday night, the migrants were transferred from the Norwegian-flagged rescue boat Ocean Viking, operated by the French charities SOS Méditerranée and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), to a coastguard vessel before being taken ashore on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa.
Continue reading...M5S and Democratic party could potentially reverse Salvini’s hardline policies
Italy’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, and his new left-leaning coalition have won a vote of confidence in the Senate – the final step needed for the new government to exercise its full powers.
The move paves the way for the coalition between the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-left Democratic party (PD) to potentially reverse the hardline immigration policies of the former interior minister, Matteo Salvini.
Continue reading...Online poll gives final backing for government pact with centre-left Democratic party
Members of Italy’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) have overwhelmingly backed a coalition with the centre-left Democratic party (PD) in an online vote, giving the final backing to a deal between traditional foes intended to pull Italy out of a political crisis.
The prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, had been tasked with securing a pact between the two parties after Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League, collapsed its coalition with M5S in an attempt to force snap elections in which he hoped to capitalise on his recent popularity.
Continue reading...Country could face fresh elections if party members reject pact with centre-left PD
Members of Itay’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) party are voting online on whether they want their party to attempt to form a coalition government with the Democratic party (PD).
Last week, the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, was tasked with securing a pact between the two parties and staving off early elections after Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League, collapsed its coalition with M5S.
Continue reading...