Foreign
ITALY’S President Sergio Mattarella is due to meet former European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi for talks at the Quirinal Palace at midday on Wednesday.
For weeks, Draghi has been talked about as a potential head of a technocratic government to guide the country through its most pressing problems amid the pandemic in the coming weeks or months.
Mattarella’s plans to meet Draghi received a mixed reception, with the Five Star Movement continuing to call for a political government, rather than a team of technocrats.
A Cabinet led by Draghi would also have to win the support of both chambers of parliament.
On Tuesday, Mattarella called on lawmakers to support a government of technocrats.
Party negotiations mediated by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Roberto Fico, to resurrect Italy’s center-left governing coalition broke down late on Tuesday.
Fico had led talks to find a parliamentary majority among parties that had supported the previous government under Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
Conte’s move came in response to former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s Italia Viva party leaving the center-left coalition in mid-January after a spat over how to use pandemic aid from the European Union.
In recent weeks, installing a government of technocrats has been discussed as a possible short term option, though it is thought that Mattarella would like to usher in a government that will last until the end of the legislature in 2023.
Another option, favored by the majority of parties only as a last resort, would be early elections.
Drag led the ECB from 2011 to 2019.
Feb, 3, 2021 @ 11:55 AM
Tags: Italy’s president meets Draghi amid attempts to form govt
