Draghi’s resignation leaves Italy in turmoil

Mario Draghi has resigned as Italian prime minister – for the second time in a week. But this time his resignation was accepted by President Sergio Mattarella, with a snap election expected in September or October. The resignation came after a fiery debate in parliament yesterday in which the populist Five Star Movement joined the right-wing League and Forza Italia parties to abstain on a vote of confidence in Draghi’s national unity coalition, which was ushered in and saw Draghi installed, unelected, as PM during the pandemic.

The vote of confidence came after Draghi’s predecessor, Giuseppe Conte, refused to lead his Five Star party into supporting a cost-of-living support package. Conte argued that Draghi’s support for Italians was insufficient, and follows months of accusations that Italy is spending too much on help for Ukraine at the expense of the domestic population.