By Silvia Marchetti
ROME (MaceNews) – Italy’s head of state Sergio Mattarella handed to lower house leader Roberto Fico an ‘explorative’ mandate to evaluate whether the current ruling coalition has a stable enough majority to keep on governing.
Mattarella was obliged to take the step following the failure of two days of party talks at the presidential palace aimed at seeking common ground among all the political parties. The future of Premier Giuseppe Conte’s coalition government is on the line, as it appears unlikely that he will have the needed support to remain in power.
“The head of state Sergio Mattarella has handed me an explorative mandate to see whether there are grounds for the current ruling coalition to keep governing the country. I will be meeting in coming days only with the governing parties”, Fico said at the end of the meeting with the president.
Fico is expected to deliver his evaluation on Tuesday, after he discusses the positions of the Democrats and the 5 Stars Movement, the only two political forces of the current coalition left ruling after the minor Italia Viva party of former premier Matteo Renzi pulled out, triggering a political crisis.
Mattarella stressed that in such hard times it was paramount for Italy’s government to be backed by “a strong, stable majority able to tackle the challenges facing the country and give concrete answers to citizens,” primarily in the fight against COVID-19 and defining a clear plan for deploying European direct aid.
The head of state’s move is intended to buy the political parties more time as they seek to reach a last-minute compromise through Fico’s mediation. The lower house leader is the second top institutional figure after the head of state and is required to be impartial, even if Fico is a member of the 5 Stars.
Italy’s political stalemate, which was expected to end on Friday with a final decision by Mattarella, prolongs parliament ‘freeze-mode’ status, delaying crucial measures and decisions.
Conte’s razor-thin victory at the Senate last week was not enough to secure his position. If Fico delivers a negative evaluation, deeming the current coalition unfit to keep ruling, the head of state could decide to task another political figure or an outsider to build an alternative majority stable enough to lead the country up to 2023, when the current legislature will expire. An early vote would be a measure of last resort in the worst case scenario that no solid majority is found amongst political parties currently in parliament.
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Contact this reporter: silvia@macenews.com
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