Italy: Democrats, Five-Star Movement call for technocratic government

Marianne Arens

Last night, the Italian Senate decided that the parliamentary vote of no confidence that is expected to mark the end of the current government will take place on Tuesday, August 20, following a speech by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

The 345 members of the Senate had been recalled from their traditional summer holidays because their party leaders were unable to agree on a course of action on Monday. The far-right Lega party had announced its lack of confidence in Conte on August 9, after its leader, Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, formed a coalition government with Conte’s Five-Star Movement (M5S) over on August 7.

Salvini is aiming to hold new elections and to become the leader of a far-right government. His party received 34 percent of the votes in the recent European elections and has since recorded stronger polling results. He wants to form a coalition with the fascist Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy), with Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, or with both. On Tuesday, Salvini had talks with Fratelli d’Italia leader Giorgia Meloni and with Berlusconi.

However, the decision on the what steps to take next lies with President Sergio Mattarella of the opposition Democratic Party (PD). If the government falls next week, he has three options: to find a new majority in the existing Senate, call new elections or appoint a “technocratic” transitional government.

Currently, the strongest proponent of a technocratic government is former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (PD), who vehemently opposes new elections. He has declared that an unelected government is needed to save Italy from an “extremist course,” reduce the size of parliament, and push through the next budget with European Union (EU) approval before new elections. He thus directly plays into the hands of Salvini, who could present himself Tuesday in the Senate as a “true democrat” wanting to “give the people the vote.”

Salvini’s previous coalition partner, the M5S, also rejects new elections, after party founder Beppe Grillo spoke out against it on his blog. The M5S also wants to approve the budget and reduce the size of the parliament before new elections are held. They would also lose about half their seats if a vote took place now.

On Tuesday evening, the M5S and PD together blocked a vote of confidence from taking place in the Senate as Salvini had demanded. Since then, speculation has continued in Rome as to whether the two parties, which have been public political enemies, will form a new ruling coalition. They could jointly secure a parliamentary majority supporting a technocratic government appointed by the president.

Salvini’s speech in the Senate was interrupted several times by loud denunciations from senators of the PD and its breakaway, LeU ( Liberi e Uguali). This parliamentary opposition to Salvini is from the right, however. It is not directed against Salvini’s fascist and anti-refugee policy, which was fully supported by the M5S, the new ally of the PD, for 14 months, but against his threats to ignore the EU’s limits on Italian budget deficits.