Italian President Mattarella Searches for New Prime Minister Candidate... Meetings with Party Leaders Until the 29th

Sergio Mattarella, President of Italy [Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Italian President Sergio Mattarella is expected to select a new prime minister candidate this weekend and grant the authority to form a coalition government.

Italy is in a situation where a new government must be formed following the resignation of former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on the 26th. In Italy, the president usually holds a symbolic position as the head of state, while the prime minister exercises actual power. However, in the absence of a prime minister, the president recommends a new prime minister candidate and grants the authority to form a new government. If the formation of a new government proves difficult, a general election is held to establish a government.

Following Conte's resignation, President Mattarella began procedures to form a new government starting on the 27th. First, he met with the speakers of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies to discuss the political situation. On the 28th and 29th, President Mattarella plans to meet with representatives of each political party to consider to whom he will grant the authority to form a new government. The parties involved in the consultations include the existing coalition partner, the anti-establishment party Five Star Movement (M5S), the center-left Democratic Party (PD), and the centrist party "Italia Viva (IV)," which declared its withdrawal from the coalition on the 13th and triggered the current political crisis.

Attention is focused on whether President Mattarella will grant the authority to form a coalition government again to the resigned Prime Minister Conte.

Conte took office as prime minister in June 2018. After the March 2018 general election, the Five Star Movement, which formed a coalition with the far-right party Lega, nominated Conte as prime minister. When the far-right Lega withdrew from the coalition in 2019, Conte skillfully brought in the Democratic Party as a new coalition partner for the Five Star Movement. Conte led a coalition government centered on the Democratic Party, the Five Star Movement, and Italia Viva, which was founded in September 2019. With Italia Viva's declaration of withdrawal from the coalition, the coalition lost its majority in the Senate, leading to Conte's resignation. The leadership of the Five Star Movement and the Democratic Party still support former Prime Minister Conte.

If President Mattarella judges after consultations with the parties that securing a stable majority in the Senate is difficult, he may shift toward replacing the prime minister and forming a national unity government including opposition parties.