After the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Italian President Sergio Mattarella dissolved parliament on Thursday. The head of state stressed that the conditions for the continuation of the parliamentary term are not in place, so the only solution to the government crisis, the 80-year-old head of state said, are new elections – these will take place on September 25.
Draghi will remain in office until the new elections. Mattarella stressed that Italy had several obligations, including the budget law to be passed by the end of this year.
Draghi won the confidence vote in the Senate on Wednesday, but not with the broad majority he wanted, as the three ruling parties Lega, Forza Italia and the Five Star Movement did not vote. So he handed in his resignation on Thursday.
Never an election campaign in the summer
Political elections in the fall or even at the end of the summer, as currently planned, are a first for Italy. Politicians must prepare for a summer election campaign, which is unprecedented in the Italian republic, as parliamentary elections have always been held between February and June.
If the elections take place on September 25, the symbols must be submitted to the Ministry of the Interior between August 12 and 14, the lists, signatures and candidates for each constituency between August 21 and 22 to the courts of appeal. The election campaign was set to take place in August, traditionally a holiday month in Italy.
Right-wing party on the rise
According to polls, the right-wing Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) party led by populist Giorgia Meloni ranks high with 22 percent of the vote, overtaking both the Lega and the Social Democrats (PD – Partito Democratico). Meloni has been pushing for new elections for months. In Rome, it is possible that she could become the first woman in Italy to become prime minister.
The South Tyrolean People’s Party (SVP) and the Autonomy Group deplore the fall of the Draghi government. “Mario Draghi has guided this country through the crises with experience, foresight and prudence in recent months and we are all indebted to him. He allowed Italy to play a role again on the international political stage and made Europe reliable again. Italian politics gambled all that away yesterday,” emphasized SVP Chamber Deputy Renate Gebhard.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
