Italian political crisis continues after President of the Republic Mattarella refuses eurosceptic Economy Minister

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Series Details May 2018
Publication Date 29/05/2018
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Further information:

On 27 May 2018, Italian head of State Sergio Mattarella refused the economic Minister proposed by Giuseppe Conte and its government which was the result of weeks of coalition talks between the Five Star Movement and the Northern League.

This opposition from the head of State led Conte to resign and opened again the governmental crisis.

Reactions to the President's move in Italy are controversial. The public opinion is split between those who agree with Mattarella hailed as a hero and those who considered him as a traitor of the Constitution and the democratic system, some of them also threatened violence.

On 28 May 2018, Mattarella summoned Carlo Cottarelli to give him the mandate to form a government.

Background information:

On 23 May 2018, President Mattarella gave the mandate to professor Giuseppe Conte to create a new government.

Conte, Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini, being respectively the leader of the Five Star Movement and the leader of the Northern League, worked together in order to find the names of the people who would have became the Ministers of the so-called 'government of the change'. Between those names, a major problem was related to Paolo Savona, the perspective economy Minister, because of his previous work connected with eurosceptic views.

On 27 May 2018, Conte met President Mattarella in order to have his official approval, but the President vetoed Savona as Minister, leading Conte to resign. President Mattarella decided not to approve Savona because of his calls for a possible Italian exit from the euro expressed in his Plan B to leave the eurozone through secret negotiations.

The leaders of the Five Star Movement and the Northern League, Di Maio and Salvini, strongly opposed this decision from the President, saying they would not have given their confidence to the government created by Cottarelli and claiming they were ready to go back to the election.

Di Maio said that the move from the President was incomprehensible and that Mattarella went too far in exercising the powers the Constitution gives him; in doing so, the President would have put aside the results of the general election held in March, preventing them to form a government, and he would have preferred the interest of Brussels over Italian ones. He raised the possibility of an attempt to impeach President Mattarella, a process that has been initiated three times in the past against Italian heads of state but has never succeeded.
He also asked Italian people to show support to the Five Star Movement by drapping the Italian flag on their windows and to join parades and rallies to support the party.

On 28 May 2018, President Mattarella appointed Cottarelli as interim Prime Minister. Cottarelli, 'Mr. Scissors', is an economist, former International Monetary Fund official and Italian government appointee, who told reporters that he would form a caretaker government only with the goal of passing a budget and guiding Italy to new elections.

Related Links
LSE European Institute, 30.05.18: Italy’s crisis: Wouldn’t it be simpler if the government simply dissolved the people and elected another? http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2018/05/30/italys-crisis-wouldnt-it-be-simpler-if-the-government-simply-dissolved-the-people-and-elected-another/
EurActiv, 30.05.18: Italy may return to polls as early as July, amid market rout https://www.euractiv.com/section/elections/news/italy-may-return-to-polls-as-early-as-july-amid-market-rout/
The Guardian, 28.05.18: Giuseppe Conte: 'I have given up my mandate to form a government of change' [YouTube video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h0VYW1zt90
BBC News, 28.05.18: Italy crisis: Call to impeach president after candidate vetoed http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44275781
Euronews, 27.05.18: Italy's political stalemate continues after president refuses to accept a eurosceptic finance minister http://www.euronews.com/2018/05/27/italy-s-political-stalemate-continues-after-president-refuses-to-accept-a-eurosceptic-fina
The New York Times, 28.05.18: Italian President’s Loyalty to the Euro Creates Chaos https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/28/world/europe/italy-sergio-mattarella-carlo-cottarelli.html
CNN, 28.05.18: Italy's populists are blocked as 'political referee' waves the red card https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/28/europe/italy-political-crisis-analysis-lister-intl/index.html
Reuters, 28.05.18: Italy's fresh election risks being referendum on euro https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-politics-euro-election-analysis/italys-fresh-election-risks-being-referendum-on-euro-idUSKCN1IT1IF
The Local.it, 28.05.18: Italy in fresh political chaos amid calls to impeach the president https://www.thelocal.it/20180528/italy-political-chaos-m5s-impeach-president-sergio-mattarella
Deutsche Welle, 28.05.18: Italian president asks economist Carlo Cottarelli to form interim government http://www.dw.com/en/italian-president-asks-economist-carlo-cottarelli-to-form-interim-government/a-43959251
Reuters, 28.05.18: President readies Italy for snap polls to be fought on EU, euro https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-politics/president-readies-italy-for-snap-polls-to-be-fought-on-eu-euro-idUSKCN1IT0GK
Deutsche Welle, 28.05.18: Italian populist coalition's failure to govern throws government into doubt http://www.dw.com/en/italian-populist-coalitions-failure-to-govern-throws-government-into-doubt/a-43967321
BBC News, 28.05.18: What is Italy's political crisis all about? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44277888
The Guardian, 28.05.18: New elections loom in Italy amid calls for Mattarella to be impeached https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/27/italys-pm-designate-giuseppe-conte-fails-to-form-populist-government
Reuters, 27.05.18: Italy's efforts to form government fail as president defends euro https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-politics/italys-efforts-to-form-government-fail-as-president-defends-euro-idUSKCN1IS0HL
Reuters, 28.05.18: Factbox - Impeachment of a President: How it works in Italy https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-politics-impeachment-factbox/factbox-impeachment-of-a-president-how-it-works-in-italy-idUSKCN1IT1FN?il=0
EurActiv, 28.05.18: Technocrat PM to take over in Italy as President steps in to protect the euro https://www.euractiv.com/section/future-eu/news/technocrat-pm-to-take-over-as-president-steps-in-to-protect-the-euro/
The Guardian, 28.05.18: Italian president names interim prime minister until fresh elections https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/28/italy-president-sergio-mattarella-names-interim-prime-minister-carlo-cottarelli
The Guardian, 28.05.18: Sergio Mattarella: the Italian president at the heart of a political crisis https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/28/sergio-mattarella-italian-president-political-crisis
Politico, 28.05.18: Italian president asks ‘Mr. Scissors’ technocrat to form government https://www.politico.eu/article/italian-president-asks-mr-scissors-technocrat-to-form-government/
Politico [Opinion], 28.05.18: Italian voters head for euro showdown https://www.politico.eu/article/italy-government-election-voters-head-for-euro-showdown/
The Local.it, 30.05.18: Italy political crisis: Impeachment 'off the table', main parties call for summer election https://www.thelocal.it/20180530/italy-political-crisis-carlo-cottarelli-cabinet
The Guardian [Opinion], 28.05.18: With his choice of prime minister, Italy’s president has gifted the far right https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/28/italy-eurosceptic-far-right-technocrat-matarella-racist-populist
The Guardian, 29.05.18: 'They played us': Italy's political turmoil angers backers of coalition https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/29/italy-political-turmoil-angers-backers-lega-five-star-movement-coalition
EuObserver, 28.05.18: How radical is Italy's Savona really? https://euobserver.com/elections/141914
Reuters, 27.05.18: Italy's eurosceptic candidate for economy minister seeks to reassure president https://uk.reuters.com/article/italy-politics/italys-eurosceptic-candidate-for-economy-minister-seeks-to-reassure-president-idUKL5N1SY04K
Verfassungsblog: Blog, 18.06.18: The Italian President and the Security of the European Project https://verfassungsblog.de/the-italian-president-and-the-security-of-the-european-project/
Spiegel, 28.05.18: Italian President Mattarella: The Man Who Wouldn't Yield http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/italian-president-mattarella-the-man-who-wouldn-t-yield-a-1209982.html
EurActiv, 29.05.18: Oettinger: Markets will show the way to shun populists in Italy https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/oettinger-markets-will-show-the-way-to-shun-populists-in-italy/

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