« Only Italy allows itself to have leaders worthy of the commedia dell’arte but capable ofs also to be kingmakers, as is currently Giuseppe Conte, the dandy lawyer lent to politics”declares, sarcastically, Lorenzo Castellani, professor of political science at the Luiss Guido Carli University in Rome.
At the time when he was catapulted to the head of government by the 5 Star Movement (M5S created in 2009 at the instigation of humorist Beppe Grillo), after his exploit in the 2018 elections (32% of the vote), Giuseppe Conte was just a small Roman lawyer, with no political experience or even party membership.
Italy: Mario Draghi seals his fate on Wednesday, the country holds its breath
From June 2018 to September 2019, he led an executive with a majority made up of M5S and the League of Matteo Salvini. Then, after the crisis triggered by Salvini, he was at the head of another government, supported by the M5S, the Democratic Party and Italia Viva by Matteo Renzi, between September 2019 and January 2021.
Draghi, savior of an Italy devastated by Covid-19
At the end of a period of serious tension with the centrist Renzi, who reproached him for not giving satisfactory answers on school, employment and health, he resigned. Succeeded him, on the proposal of the Head of State Sergio Mattarella, the former President of the ECB, Mario Draghi, a size. Which forms in February 2021, an executive of national union going from the center left to the far right (the League), via the M5S. The idea is then to save Italy, devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic, helped by the generous Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) from Brussels, of which the country is, thanks to the Draghi guarantee, the main beneficiary within of the EU.
Italy hanging on the fate of the Draghi government
Giuseppe Conte, who finally joined the M5S late in 2021, at the age of 56, never digested Draghi’s arrival. In August, he took over the reins of the Movement. “At that time, the 5 stars were already traversed by two tendencies, on the one hand those nostalgic for the anti-system training, anti-elite, environmentalists, who had won over a large electorate, at a time when the Italians no longer had confidence in their ruling class. On the other hand, those who, institutionalized, had approached the Democratic Party. Their figurehead? Luigi Di Maio, current Minister of Foreign Affairs », Relays Lorenzo Castellani.
The war in Ukraine, breaking point within the M5S
As the months go by, the internal divisions within the Movement are accentuated. Giuseppe Conte, neglected by the actor Beppe Grillo, having failed to give a clear identity to the M5S, suffered a bitter defeat in the partial municipal elections in June 2022. The party then split in two, Luigi Di Maio embarked 71 parliamentarians in its “Together for the future”.
Ukraine is the breaking point within the Movement. Luigi Di Maio does not understand the reluctance of the M5S to send weapons to Ukraine. “Faced with Putin’s barbarity, we cannot show hesitation”, he said. According to Lorenzo Castellani, Di Maio’s departure accelerated the Movement’s anti-Draghi turn. The latter, credited with only 11% of the voting intentions, still weighs heavily in Parliament, with 167 deputies (out of 630) and 61 senators (out of 315).
The M5S, a radical force?
“Conte and his troops dream of restoring the image of the M5S by presenting it as a radical force, focused on the environment and the social”, continues the political scientist. The dramatic turn of events caused by their abstention from voting last Thursday on an economic aid package presented by the government to the Senate is an illustration of this. Giuseppe Conte then takes the risk of provoking a political crisis that could lead to the irrevocable resignation of Mario Draghi.
Resignation of Mario Draghi: in Italy, “everything is possible, including ubiquitous situations”
“Breaking the national unity pact is a suicidal act for this crumbling party! Lorenzo Castellani takes it away. Because the majority of Italians wants Draghi to continue to govern, given Italy’s great difficulties. »
This Wednesday, the ball is as much in the camp of the Prime Minister, who may agree to remain in his post without Conte’s troops on condition of obtaining guarantees, as in that of Giuseppe Conte who could decide, after the speech of Mario Draghi before Parliament, to finally demonstrate responsibility towards his country.
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A country supported by Brussels
Italy is by far the country that benefits the most from the European Union’s recovery plan, a veritable rescue plan for the Italian economy.
In this context, it must receive 191 billion euros in loans and subsidies, i.e. nearly 12% of its gross domestic product. Spain, the second beneficiary, will benefit from it up to 70 billion euros.
Rome has already received a quarter of the allocated sum. The payment of the rest of the sum is conditional on carrying out the reforms to which the country is committed.
Italy, in debt to the tune of 150% of its GDP, is the weak link of the European Union.