Italy Loses Government, Coalition of Right-Wing, Anti-Establishment Parties Collapses
aristarchus has prompted this story:
According to BNN, Baltic News Network, quoting Al Jazeera reporting, the Italian government has collapsed.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has resigned following a decision by the far-right League party to present a no-confidence motion in the 14-month old coalition government.
The move on Tuesday leaves Italy in a political vacuum until President Sergio Mattarella decides whether to form a new coalition or call an election after talks with parties in the coming days.
Mattarella charged Conte with heading a caretaker administration after he handed in his resignation, pending consultations on a new government which are set to begin at 14:00 GMT on Wednesday.
The crisis began on August 8 when Matteo Salvini, the head of the League party, declared his alliance with the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement was dead and called for elections, a move he hopes will make him prime minister.
Addressing parliament on the turmoil unleashed by the League's move, Conte accused Salvini, who is also deputy prime minister and interior minister, of trying to drag down the coalition for personal and political gain, and putting the nation at risk of financial instability.
"I'm ending this government experience here," Conte, who does not belong to either of the coalition parties, said in his almost hour-long speech to the chamber.
Widespread reporting including:
- https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/20/world/europe/italy-pm-giuseppe-conte-resign.html
- https://www.wsj.com/articles/italian-prime-minister-to-resign-declaring-end-of-government-11566310341
- https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/italian-premier-quits-blames-deputy-1.5253440
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