Draghi, moments before intervening in the Senate. /
The ball is now in the court of the parties, which must make it clear if they are willing to renew the “confidence pact” that allowed the birth of the National Unity Executive
The Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, opened the door on Wednesday to his continuity at the head of the Executive if the “sincere and concrete pact of trust” is renewed, which the parties established a year and a half ago. Following the instructions of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, they then put aside their differences to give life to a Government of national unity that would pull Italy out of the pandemic and launch an ambitious agenda of reforms promoted by the millionaire European aid. .
The former president of the European Central Bank (ECB) ceded the responsibility for getting out of the current political crisis to the parties in the speech he made first thing in the morning in the Senate. This appearance in the Upper House came after, last Thursday, Mattarella did not accept his resignation, which Draghi had presented after losing the support of the 5 Star Movement (M5E), one of the parties that are part of the government coalition .
After delivering his speech, the Prime Minister will listen to the responses of the parties in the Senate and, based on what they say, will decide whether to remain in power or confirm his intention to leave the Government, which could lead the country to the calling of early elections. A possible solution to the crisis would come with the departure of the M5E from the Cabinet. If Draghi finally chooses to continue, the confidence vote is expected to take place in the afternoon to give impetus to this new start of the Executive, which, barring new surprises, would last until the end of the legislature in the first months of 2023.
In his speech, the former president of the ECB recalled how the current government “of national unity” was born, recounted the successes achieved in this year and a half of “civil miracle” and outlined the challenges of the coming months. Among them, he highlighted the continuity of the reform and investment agenda financed by the European Union, the reorganization of energy policy to overcome dependence on Russian gas and the maintenance of the international “leading role” of a “free and democratic” Italy against the that “they try to seduce us with their authoritarian model,” he said, stressing the need to continue supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
“Strong and cohesive”
To respond to these situations, a “really strong and cohesive” government and a Parliament “that accompany it with conviction” are needed, said the prime minister, who does not want the situation of recent months to continue, in which the discomfort increasingly manifest in the government coalition of the M5E and the League, the formation of Matteo Salvini, has fostered a “facade” confidence, which “vanishes” in the face of uncomfortable decisions. “A new, sincere and concrete pact of trust is needed, like the one that has allowed us to improve the country so far. Are the parties and parliamentarians ready to rebuild this pact? », Draghi asked in the final part of his speech.
The senators of the M5E and the League did not applaud this last part of the intervention, in which the prime minister invited the political forces not to give an answer to himself, “but to all Italians.” He had previously made it clear that he would not go ahead after what happened last Thursday, when the M5E abstained from fast-track approval through a motion of confidence in the Senate of a decree of aid against the energy crisis valued at 26,000 million of euros.
“It cannot be ignored, contained or minimized. The only way to continue together is to rebuild this pact from the beginning, with courage, altruism and credibility,” said the prime minister, who ended up giving in to the “unprecedented mobilization that is impossible to ignore” that has taken place in recent days to deal with to convince him to remain in power. The pressures suffered from various political and economic spheres, as well as from European partners, have led the former president of the ECB to give a second chance to the parties of his country.