Section:GDN 1N PaGe:35 Edition Date:190830 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 29/8/2019 20:37 cYanmaGentaYellowb
Friday 30 Aug ust 2019 The Guardian •
Amazon fi res 35
Blazes reported in
indigenous reserves
Page 37No fl y zone
New spacesuit could
end Gagarin ritual
Page 39Salvini sidelined as
Conte gets green
light to form new
Italian government
Angela Giuff rida
RomeThe Italian prime minister, Giuseppe
Conte , has said now is the time to
“turn a crisis into an opportunity”
after accepting a fresh mandate to try
to form a new government that could
mark a turning point in Italy’s fract ious
relations with the EU.
President Sergio Mattarella has
given Conte the job of securing a pact
between the anti-establishment Five
Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-
left Democratic party (PD) in a move
that would oust the far-right League
from government and stave off early
elections.
“It’s a delicate period for the coun-
try and we need to exit the political
uncertainty soon,” Conte said after a
meeting with Mattarella yesterday.
“This will be a new season, a time for
relaunch ... it won’t be a government
‘against’, but one that is for the citizens
and modernises the country.” He saidItaly, a founder of the EU , must return
to being a “protagonist” in the bloc.
This could be Conte’s second chance
at leading Italy after he resigned last
week , ending a turbulent alliance
between M5S and the League. M5S and
the PD still need to draft a programme
and pick a cabinet.
One hurdle is the role of Luigi Di
Maio, the M5S leader. The PD insisted
he step down as deputy prime minis-
ter in return for them accepting Conte
as prime minister.
If they manage to form a govern-
ment, the fi rst challenges will be to
draft Italy’s budget for next year and
freez e an increase in VAT. The parties
are poised to ask the EU for fl exibil-
ity with the budget, the fi rst draft of
which must be ready by the end of next
month, in order to “reinforce social
cohesion” in the country. “We need
to get to work immediately to come up
with a budget that avoids an increase
in VAT,” Conte said.
There were fi erce clashes between
Italy and the EU over this year’s budget
and the country’s huge public debt.
Conte, who has repeatedly said Italy
would respect EU budgetary rules,
has twice managed to avert threats of
sanctions.
Italy was plunged into chaos this
month after Matteo Salvini withdrew
his League from its alliance with M5S,
as he sought to exploit his party’s pop-
ularity to bring about snap elections
and become prime minister.
The dramatic move threatened to
create a fully far-right government.
But Salvini, whose tactics have dented
his popularity in recent weeks, had
not banked on M5S teaming up with
the PD. The pair are longstanding
enemies but also the two largest par-
ties in parliament.
Salvini had also not expected Conte
to emerge as his rival. Talks between
the PD and M5S progressed after Nicola
Zingaretti, the PD leader , succumbed
to demands from Di Maio to reinstate
Conte.
Conte, who was repeatedly dis-
missed as a “puppet” when governing
the M5S-League alliance, has come
into his own in recent weeks. He
already had a high approval rating, but
gained many more fans with an attack
on Salvini in the Senate last week.
Conte had previously defended Sal-
vini, but on this occasion accused him
of being an “opportunist” only out to
pursue his own interests. Conte is also
respected in the EU, particularly for his
Source: Ministry of the Interior diplomacy skills.The old and new Italian
governments – chamber of deputies227 125 1410432 112227 112 1432 104 125- Democratic party
- Five Star Movement
- Free and Equal • League
- Forza Italia
- Brothers of Italy
Old governmentNew governmentGovernment 50%Government 50%▲ Giuseppe Conte leaves the Quirinal palace in Rome after meeting Sergio Mattarella PHOTOGRAPH: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/GETTYHow League’s plot backfi red
Less than a month ago, Matteo
Salvini was in his element,
drinking moj itos and posing for
countless selfi es at Papeete, his
favourite beach club in the seaside
resort town of Milano Marittim a.
He had good reason to be cheerful:
his far-right League party was
nearing 39% in the polls.
Now Salvini is licking his
wounds after a gambit to collapse
the government and force snap
elections backfi red.
In an usually turbulent period
even by the standards of Italian
politics, the League’s former
coalition partner, the anti-
establishment Five Star Movement
(M5S), retaliated to being dumped
by Salvini by embracing the
centre-left Democratic party (PD),traditionally a staunch rival. The
two parties are now endeavouring
to carve out a new parliamentary
majority , led by Giuseppe Conte,
who resigned as PM last week with a
stinging attack on Salvini.
Salvini had envisaged a summer
of campaigning along Italy’s
southern coast, where he planned to
lure voters away from M5S. Instead,
as he plunged the country into
chaos, many Italians quickly tired
of seeing him plastered across the
papers , bare-chested and having a
good time on the beach.
Salvini has been a highly eff ective
campaigner – the League leapt from
17% in the 2018 general elections to
34% in the European ballot in May
this year. But his strategic skills have
been less impressive. His majormisstep recently was failing to
foresee the M5S-PD alliance.
Salvini also underestimated the
mild-mannered Conte. Not only did
Conte avoid a no-confi dence vote ,
but his blistering speech against
Salvini in the Senate last week,
when he accused him of being
“opportunistic” and “irresponsible”,
earned him new fans.
Much of Salvini’s success was
built on the League’s capacity to
foment hatred against a number of
targets including southern Italians,
migrants, Muslims, gay people and
even Pope Francis. An embittered
Salvini is now presenting himself
as the victim, saying on Wednesday
night that an M5S-PD government
would be one founded on “hatred of
the League”. Angela Giuff rida▲ Salvini’s popularity has been dentedd
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