Italian chamber speaker mandated to probe new government majority – Xinhua English.news.cn
Troy L. Milliron
2 min read
League party leader Matteo Salvini (C) addresses the media at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy, January 29, 2021. Italian President Sergio Mattarella has given House Speaker Roberto Fico a mandate exploratory to verify whether the same government majority that existed before Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s resignation on January 26 is still achievable. (Pool via Xinhua)
ROME, Jan.29 (Xinhua) – Italian President Sergio Mattarella has given Speaker of the House Roberto Fico an exploratory mandate to verify whether the same government majority that existed before Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned on January 26 still holds.
In a brief televised statement, Fico thanked Mattarella for entrusting him with the task of surveying members of the previous government coalition – the center-left Democratic Party, the Five Star Movement and the centrist Italia Viva party led by Matteo Renzi, a former prime minister.
Mattarella has given Fico until Tuesday to report to him, the president’s office said.
Renzi withdrew his support for the government earlier this month over his handling of the pandemic and multibillion-euro funding from the EU for Italy, sparking a government crisis.
Mattarella’s decision came after three days of talks with all Italian political parties.
“Italy, like all countries in the world, is facing new and dangerous offensives from the pandemic,” the president said in a brief televised statement.
The pandemic has caused “serious” health, social and economic emergencies, “which can only be resolved through rapid and efficient use of the significant resources made available by the European Union,” he said.
“Therefore, we must soon give birth to a government with adequate support in parliament so as not to leave our country exposed to events at this critical time,” he said.
After Fico’s report next week, it will be up to the president to decide on the next step. He can give Conté another mandate to form a government, or he can give a mandate to someone else.
