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Meeting of Sergio Mattarella (left) and Mario Draghi in the Quirinale Palace
Photo: QUIRINALE PRESS OFFICE/PAOLO GIANDOTTI HANDOUT / EPA
Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi is allowed to step down as prime minister.
As announced by the Quirinale Palace in Rome, President Sergio Mattarella has accepted Draghi's resignation.
The government will remain in office for current business.
As head of state, Mattarella must now decide whether to dissolve the chambers of parliament, paving the way for an early election, or whether to seek an expert or politician to form a new governing majority from the existing parliament.
Draghi had a session in the Chamber of Deputies suspended on Thursday morning in order to once again offer Mattarella his resignation.
The prime minister had already resigned his office last week, but had been instructed by Mattarella to reassess the situation and, if necessary, to reunite the shattered coalition.
Attempt at a cross-party agreement failed
Draghi then tried to bring his coalition partners back together.
On Wednesday he called for a "pact" between the parties to end the crisis.
In a first vote of confidence in the Senate on Wednesday evening, the prime minister received a majority, but Draghi's three major coalition parties Lega, Forza Italia and Five Star Movement withdrew their participation in the vote.
The efforts of the former head of the European Central Bank were effectively torpedoed.
Draghi then forestalled a second vote in the Chamber of Deputies by auditioning again at Mattarella.
The political crisis was triggered when the Five Star Movement backed down in a vote in the Senate.
The party had thus withdrawn Draghi's confidence.
The Prime Minister did not see himself in a position to continue governing.
Due to the political chaos, the country with its almost 60 million inhabitants is threatened with weeks of uncertainty.
In the second half of 2022, Italy must implement important reforms so that Brussels can distribute the next tranche of the Corona reconstruction aid worth billions.
In addition, Parliament has to plan the budget for 2023, which usually takes a long time.
In the event of a new election, the country would initially hardly be able to act politically.
Shift to the right possible in new elections
After Draghi's renewed resignation, the financial markets reacted with a downward movement.
The stock exchange in Milan was in the meantime two percent in the red.
The risk premium for ten-year Italian government bonds in relation to German government bonds rose significantly.
In the case of new elections, Italy's political landscape could change significantly.
Giorgia Meloni's post-fascist opposition party, Fratelli d'Italia, is currently in the lead.
Together with the right-wing Lega and the conservative Forza Italia led by ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the right-wing bloc could unite many people and ultimately even a parliamentary majority behind it.
fek/dpa/AFP
