Italian PM Conte threatens to resign, tells coalition to end feud

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Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Monday said he was ready to resign unless the two parties in the governing populist coalition – the League and the Five Star Movement (M5S) – stopped squabbling.

"I am asking both these political forces to make a choice and tell me if they still want to honor the government's obligations," he said. If not, "I will simply end my mandate."

Conte, an academic with no political support base, called a news conference to make the extraordinary ultimatum after months of bickering inside his year-old coalition.

The leaders of both the League and the M5S, Matteo Salvini and Luigi Di Maio respectively, swiftly issued statements reaffirming their commitment to the government, while denying that they were to blame for the political turmoil.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (R) and Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini attend an event in Palermo, Italy, May 23, 2019. /Reuters Photo

The two parties have been squabbling over everything from major infrastructure projects and immigration to the historical significance of national holidays and who was to blame for a cruise ship accident in Venice at the weekend.

The feud has intensified since European parliamentary elections last month in which the League won 34 percent of the vote, leap-frogging above the M5S and fueling speculation that Salvini could ditch his struggling coalition partner.

Salvini, Italy's deputy prime minister and interior minister, took to Twitter even as Conte was talking, saying he wanted to carry on. "We are ready, we want to move forward and don't have any time to lose. The League is in," he tweeted.

Di Maio, Italy's deputy prime minister and economic development minister, responded shortly afterward, saying he was ready for a government meeting as early as Tuesday to discuss issues such as tax cuts dear to the League and the introduction of a minimum wage, which the M5S wants.

"This is the only government possible which can best serve the nation," he wrote on Facebook.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Economic Development Minister Luigi Di Maio (C) leaves after casting his vote in the European parliamentary elections in Pomigliano d'Arco, Italy, May 26, 2019. /Reuters Photo

Italy's debt problem

Conte is seeking a clear mandate to continue a dialogue with the European Union over Italy's public debt.

"I want a clear, unequivocal and speedy response," he said, calling for a "loyal collaboration" from all ministers.

Salvini said last Tuesday that he expected Brussels to sanction his country for its deteriorating deficit and huge debt by imposing a fine of 3 billion euros (3.3 billion U.S. dollars).

He has also put out a host of controversial tweets. "At a time when youth unemployment is reaching 50 percent in some regions... someone in Brussels is asking us, under past rules, for a fine of 3 billion euros," he told RTL radio recently.

M5S members celebrate after the presentation of a 2.4 percent budget target during the council of ministers at Palazzo Chigi in Rome, Italy, September 27, 2018. /VCG Photo

Conte said Monday: "If there are political questions to be resolved, one does not send ambiguous signals through the press and use witticisms on social media.

"We have been tasked with designing the future of the country which is different from playing to the gallery and collecting 'likes' on social media," he said.

The populist-far right coalition in Italy was already in conflict with Brussels late last year over Rome's big-spending 2019 budget, which the commission rejected in a historic first.

Both sides finally softened their positions to reach a compromise, but in the commission's latest economic forecasts, published in early May, Italy was the worst economic performer in the eurozone, with zero growth well below other countries and debt at a record level.

(Cover: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte gestures as he holds a news conference at Chigi Palace in Rome, Italy, June 3, 2019. /Reuters Photo)

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Source(s): AFP ,Reuters