The Italian government is now on the brink of collapse after the populist 5-Star Movement threatens to quit Prime Minister Mario Draghi's ruling coalition.
The movement is threatening to boycott a crucial vote in Parliament on Thursday that would destabilize Italy's government amid the economy suffering from drought, soaring energy prices, and rising borrowing costs. If Draghi's government collapses, Europe will also lose one of its most experienced leaders at a critical time, with key decisions looming over the Ukraine war.
Italian Government on the Brink
In the last few weeks, tensions between Draghi and Giuseppe Conte, the 5-Stars' leader and a former prime minister have risen. The latter has been under pressure from a coalition of 5-Stars lawmakers who believe that the group can gain support by leaving the government and joining the opposition.
The key vote on Thursday regarding a cost-of-living bill in the Italian parliament will serve as a crucial test to see if Draghi's coalition can survive on its own. In the last few days, the populist movement had been considering whether or not to boycott a vote on the bill, which Draghi supports and which contains $26 billion in measures to help Italians handle inflation and spiking energy costs, as per Politico.
Conte announced on Wednesday night that his party would push forward and continue with the boycott of the vote. He noted that the 5-Stars group was "available for dialogue to give a contribution to the government" but on Thursday at the Senate added that the party would not participate in the vote.
"Draghi seemed willing to accommodate us but statements of intent are not enough. We need concrete measures," said Conte. The critics who called the populist group irresponsible for destabilizing the government "need to ask themselves who is really responsible for this situation," asked the lawmaker.
According to The Guardian, Conte has been threatening to pull the 5-Star Movement since it has lost half of its support since emerging as the biggest party in Italy in the 2018 general elections. The former European Central Bank chief, Draghi, said on Tuesday that the government could not survive without the populist movement while stressing that he would not accept ultimatums.
Government Ultimatums
Amid the pull-out threat, parliamentarians also need to vote on sending more support, including military aid, to Ukraine amid the war. The 5-Star Movement has long voiced its opposition to providing arms to the war-torn European country.
There have also been calls for early elections from coalition and opposition parties in the event of a government collapse due to the situation. The leader of the far-right League, Matteo Salvini, said that the "Italian people should have their say," while Giorgia Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party was the only one to stay out of Draghi's coalition, called for immediate elections.
The 5-Star Movement's announcement was also followed by other coalition parties warning that they too will quit the government if the populist movement boycotts the vote in the Senate. In a statement, Conte said, "I have a strong fear that September will be a time when many families will face the terrible choice of paying their electricity bill or buying food," a reference to the sharp spike in energy costs, Reuters reported.
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