Just in time for the football final, Italy’s Five Star party reached a deal. Giuseppe Conte, a former prime minister, has agreed to take on the leadership of the party, but only on condition that he will be fully in charge of the politics of the movement and of the parliamentary party. Beppe Grillo, the party’s founder, agreed to those conditions, which reduces his hold.
This compromise may not last. Many details have yet to be agreed. But Conte is in a strong position because the majority of parliamentarians and voters are behind him — a powerful combination.
The compromise is potentially bad news for Mario Draghi because Conte and the Five Star senators — who make up part of Draghi’s technical government — are opposing one of Draghi’s main reforms. The conflict is about criminal justice reforms, particularly statutory limitations in criminal trials. The previous Five Star-led government tabled a tough law to plug various loopholes in the criminal code.
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