Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi described the spontaneous displays of public support for his government as "extraordinary and impossible to ignore" on Wednesday as he considered requests to reconsider his resignation after a coalition partner sparked a crisis in the government.
In order to rebuild "from the top" the majority required for the government to function effectively, Draghi outlined priorities for Parliament to take into account. He also made it clear that he was willing to stay on if they were accepted. After the populists refused to support the government in a vote of confidence last week, Draghi posed a clear challenge to the 5-Star Movement to decide if they were on board or not.
Are you prepared? Are you prepared to renew this agreement? Are you prepared? At the conclusion of his remarks before the Senate, Draghi boomed. You're under no obligation to reply to me. It must be distributed to all Italians.
Following the boycott of a vote of confidence by 5-Star senators last week, Draghi volunteered to step down. Their objection to a package that included a garbage incinerator for Rome served as the catalyst, but their grievances with Draghi's administration went much beyond that.
Draghi had long said that he would never lead a second or a government without the 5-Stars, and he made it clear last week that he would not rule by ultimatum.
But it seemed as though the waves of requests for him to think twice came from both inside and outside of Italy. Political leaders, mayors, doctors' associations, and regular individuals have encouraged him to remain on recently since the execution of the EU recovery funds, skyrocketing inflation and energy prices, and the war in Ukraine are all at stake.
Draghi told the Senate that the spontaneous displays of support had personally touched him. He specifically mentioned the petitions from Italian mayors and medical professionals, who he called the "heroes of the pandemic."
"Citizens, associations, and regions are currently mobilizing for the continuation of the administration in a way that is unprecedented and impossible to ignore," he stated. We must all decide if it is possible to recreate the circumstances under which the government can effectively rule in order to satisfy the demand for stability.
There was no consensus on how the day would proceed despite Draghi's suggestion that he was open to staying. After Draghi's speech, lawmakers will have the opportunity to respond, and Draghi will have the opportunity to respond. Later in the day, there might be a vote of some kind.
President Sergio Mattarella was keeping an eye on the situation from the presidential residence on Quirinale Hill. Mattarella ultimately has the choice of accepting Draghi's resignation, if it is offered again, asking him or someone else to try to govern until the spring election, or dissolving Parliament now and calling for early elections as early as September.
Draghi had been chosen by Mattarella in 2021 to lead a government of national unity, bringing together the right, left, and the 5-Stars, to oversee Italy's economic recovery from the pandemic and implement the reforms required to put some 200 billion euros in European Union recovery funds into effect.
The uncomfortable coalition functioned for a time, but Draghi this week volunteered to quit after the 5-Star legislators, who received the most votes in the 2018 general elections, left.
Giuseppe Conte, the leader of the 5-Star movement, presented Draghi with a nine-point list of demands, including the 5-Stars' signature promise of a basic income and minimum wage, after complaining that his party's supporters had been treated disrespectfully and neglected by other coalition parties.
Conte's resistance to giving Ukraine with military assistance also threw Draghi off guard.
Mario Monti, a former premier who was selected to lead Italy in a time of need, played to Draghi's vanity by warning that leaving Italy now would irreparably damage his reputation as an internationally renowned former head of the European Central Bank.
On the front page of Corriere della Sera, Monti penned, "Draghi's bitterness over the petty games performed by numerous groups is fully comprehensible." But if Draghi went through with it and resigned, he "would show a lack of respect to the country and its inhabitants," the man cautioned.
The Democratic Party, a significant coalition partner and polling at around 22 percent, had staked out its positions before the day began. It wants Draghi to stay.
Forza Italia, led by ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi, and League, led by Matteo Salvini, are the center-right coalition partners. Both have only stated that they will not form another government with the 5-Stars.
The 5-Stars are divided within themselves, with Conte's allies prepared to go but other 5-Star MPs saying they would continue to support Draghi, signaling that there may be further defections from the populist camp. Since they are currently competing with the Democrats for the top slot in the polls, the right-wing Brothers of Italy, who had been opposed to Draghi's coalition from the beginning, want to have early elections right away.
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