Conte summons its partners to verify if it has their support

The Prime Minister of Italy, Giuseppe Conte, last Thursday in Brussels.OLIVIER HOSLET / POOL / EFE

The Prime Minister of Italy, Giuseppe Conte, has been forced to summon the leaders of the parties that make up the government coalition to verify if he has their support.

The round of consultations will end on Tuesday with the leader of Italia Viva, Matteo Renzi, who last week threatened to overthrow the Executive by withdrawing his decisive group of parliamentarians if Conte did not agree to submit to Parliament the management of European funds for the pandemic.

The prime minister was studying reshaping the government and giving more weight to the Democratic Party (PD) to avoid a major crisis.

But the first meetings ended with a rejection of that possibility.

The government crisis is a recurring threat in Italian political cycles.

No prime minister is safe, not even in moments like the present, where a fall of the Executive could have disastrous consequences.

But the waters go down, riots in Rome and the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, has decided to call the parties that make up the government coalition (5-Star Movement and Democratic Party) to consult to verify their willingness to continue supporting it.

The turbulence, unleashed by Renzi's threat to make Conte fall because of his disagreement with how the almost 209,000 million euros that will come from the EU should be managed, could result in the classic reshuffle of the Executive: positions and power for the discontented.

Conte, who already survived a change of government a year and a half ago, knows that this time he will have to apply to keep the job.

The reality is that nothing would advise provoking a political altercation of this type.

The health and economic crisis and the confusion prevailing in the majority of parties advise against it.

But Renzi's move, which he confirmed in this newspaper on Friday, must be taken into consideration.

The number of deputies and senators from Italia Viva are crucial for Conte's survival.

The prime minister yesterday began a round of consultations with the 5 Star Movement and the PD.

Conte needs to be sure that he can keep the Executive standing and transfer it to the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella.

If this were not the case, the emergency plan would consist of ensuring their support and the unity of the coalition in exchange for a reshuffle that would give more power, mainly, to the Social Democrats.

But for now, the two parties consulted confirmed their support for Conte and suggested that he postpone the decision on possible changes in the Executive positions.

In the PD, it is true, they consider for a long time that the distribution of positions has been outdated in light of the strength that each party has today.

The M5S has lost great weight in the polls, and the formation led by Zingaretti has managed to stop the bleeding and present itself as a solid dam in times of crisis.

However, both the PD and the

grillinos

ruled it out for now at the end of the meeting.

"Talking about positions and armchairs in a crisis like the one we are experiencing would be surreal," Di Maio said.

The decision goes beyond these parties.

Today the most important meeting will take place.

Conte will meet Renzi, who in recent hours has been more willing to talk.

The leader of Italia Viva, an expert in this type of movement - he thus came to power by liquidating Enrico Letta in 2014 and was the one who removed Matteo Salvini from power a year and a half ago - believes that there is a sufficient majority in Parliament to lead carry out the operation.

The Florentine has anticipated that he will not accept positions or positions in the council of ministers in exchange for giving up his request that the management of European funds go through Parliament.

But in his environment they are not clear that he can afford to be responsible for a government crisis at such a delicate time for Italy.

"There is a battle in the field of communication that must be won," say sources from Italia Viva.

Elections do not suit almost anyone

Matteo Renzi threatens to topple the Government.

And in the Executive, in the parties that make it up and in the Quirinal Palace - seat of the Presidency of the Republic - they respond that the alternative to this coalition will be to go to elections.

There is no possibility of forming another Executive with another prime minister, they insist to deactivate their threat (Italia Viva, Renzi's party would not exceed 4% of the votes in an election).

However, and everyone knows it, starting with Renzi, no one should now go through an election.

So an agreement will have to be reached. The 5 Star Movement (M5S), if the ballot boxes were put, would lose more than 20 points compared to the last elections;

Matteo Salvini, the main voice of the opposition, is out of place and stalked by his partner, Giorgia Meloni (Brothers of Italy).

Berlusconi, leader of Forza Italia, would see his party approach total decomposition and the PD has not yet had time to reorganize and look for a candidate capable of standing up to the populist machine.