Falling Short of Absolute Majority... Unstable Political Situation Expected to Continue
[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte narrowly passed the confidence vote in the Senate.
On the 19th (local time), the Italian Senate confirmed confidence in Prime Minister Conte and the centrist coalition government he leads through a vote. The voting results were 156 in favor, 140 against, and 16 abstentions.
Although confidence was barely confirmed, the centrist coalition failed to secure the absolute majority of 161 votes out of the total 321 seats in the Senate, and it is expected that the coalition will continue to face instability in passing legislation and other matters in the future. Nine senators did not attend the vote at all.
After the Senate confidence results were confirmed, the opposition announced that they would request President Sergio Mattarella to dismiss Prime Minister Conte.
Earlier, in the confidence vote in the Chamber of Deputies on the 18th, the result was 321 in favor and 259 against.
Prime Minister Conte has been leading the centrist coalition government since 2018. The main pillars of the current coalition are the anti-establishment party Five Star Movement and the center-left Democratic Party (PD). The coalition's position was shaken when Italia Viva (IV), which had been part of the coalition, declared its withdrawal from the coalition on the 13th. With IV, which holds 18 seats in the Senate, leaving, the coalition lost its majority in the Senate.
The figure leading IV is former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Former Prime Minister Renzi opposes Conte's plan to spend 209 billion euros from the European Union (EU) recovery fund. Renzi advocates investment in the digital economy and green energy.
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