Irresponsible Renzi

Matteo Renzi, former Prime Minister of Italy and leader of Italia Viva.ALBERTO PIZZOLI / AP

Italy is entering a new political crisis that may lead to the third Executive of this legislature.

The break between the leader of Italia Viva and former prime minister, Matteo Renzi, with the government led by Giuseppe Conte opens an uncertain scenario in which the early calling of elections cannot be ruled out.

The transalpine country, at a time of extreme fragility due to the pandemic and the economic crisis, is once again showing signs of its chronic instability.

Renzi's chosen moment, however, has little precedent.

Italy devours a prime minister every 14 months (67 governments since World War II).

The country has become used to navigating a perennial political crisis.

A context in which the palace movement of Renzi, the main author of the latest government crises since he dismounted his party colleague, Enrico Letta, from the presidency of the Council of Ministers to take his place in 2014 is not surprising. Now wielded by the Florentine, who denounces the shortcomings of this government and Conte's excess of personalism when making decisions - such as the management of European recovery funds - they can be partially shared.

But the timing is totally inappropriate and throws the country into uncertainty that is damaging to itself and its European neighbors.

The afternoon that Renzi announced that he was withdrawing his two government ministers, Italy reported more than 15,000 cases of coronavirus in the country and 507 deaths.

The country has just extended the state of emergency and is in the middle of the vaccination campaign.

He must also decide how he manages the largest allocation of European funds for the pandemic (about 230,000 million euros) and is preparing to inaugurate his presidency of the G-20.

Renzi defends that the pandemic cannot be the only reason that this government keeps standing.

But none of the reasons given, despite their legitimacy, seems so powerful as to subject the country now to the risk of months of political paralysis that an early vote would entail.

The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, has been during this legislature the only stable reference of a country that took a dangerous look at anti-Europeanism and far-right policies during the period in which Matteo Salvini was vice president.

Now it must once again pilot a political crisis in exceptionally serious circumstances.

Conte is seeking new support to maintain the confidence of the majority in Parliament and planned a vote to check this on Monday.

Avoiding an uncertain and paralyzing electoral process is necessary.

It is also important to achieve it with a transparent political maneuver, which forms a new, clear and stable majority, as Mattarella correctly claims.