The interview lasted exactly an hour and, as it was already in the air in the afternoon, had a negative outcome: the Prime Minister in charge, Giuseppe Conte, he gave up the job he received last week from the Head of State Sergio Mattarella. So the Lega-5 Stelle government is skipped: it was decisive, as had emerged in the last few days, the clash over the name of the Minister of the Economy, who the new majority would have liked to be Paolo Savona, a high-ranking economist who however he took on Eurosceptic positions which at first frightened the markets, in sessions last week, and consequently forced the President of the Republic to place a sort of veto on his appointment, exercising the powers entrusted to him by the Constitution.
“I thank the President of the Republic for giving me the job e I can assure you that I have made every effort and to have done so in an atmosphere of full collaboration with the exponents of the political forces who indicated my name", said Conte, as he left the meeting at the Quirinale, shortly after 20pm. The former premier in charge also thanked the two leader Di Maio and Salvini for having mentioned his name to Mattarella: his speech, without questions from journalists, lasted only a minute and was completely dry, without controversial notes.
Shortly afterwards Mattarella himself also spoke to the microphones, thus explaining the reasons for the lack of formation of the executive: “No one can say that I hindered the formation of the government. I accepted the names of all the ministers, except for the one of the Economy: I said right away that I would pay particular attention to that ministry. My duty is to protect the savings of Italians, I had asked for a political name. I have to sign the decrees for the appointment of ministers assuming their institutional responsibility, in this case the President of the Republic plays the role of guarantee that you have not been subjected to nor can be subjected to imposition. In the next few hours I will let you know my decision on returning to the vote: many political forces are asking for it, I will listen to Parliament and I will decide". Shortly after, the news filtered in that Carlo Cottarelli, former Mister Spending Review, was summoned to the Quirinale on Monday.
Before Professor Conte's official departure from the scene, which effectively sanctions the abortion of the "government of change", in the afternoon Mattarella had also met, for the umpteenth time, the two leaders Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini, and by their respective entourage had already filtered negative feelings. Mattarella's question remained unanswered as to why the League persisted in wanting Savona to the Treasury and did not agree to change it with the more pragmatic Giancarlo Giorgetti, right arm of Salvini himself.
In the morning it was the economist Paolo Savona himself who settled a statement, in which he had tried to clarify his positions on Europe ("I want a stronger but more equitable Europe", he had essentially expressed), but evidently it was not enough to overcome the resistance of Colle and to dissipate the risks perceived by the markets of a possible exit of Italy from the euro.
Now the institutional clash has already started, col 5 Star Movement that thunders against the Quirinale. “Mattarella's choice is incomprehensible,” Di Maio attacked. "The truth is that they don't want the M5S in government, I'm very angry but it doesn't end there". Indeed, with a video published on social networks in the evening, Di Maio feared the hypothesis of an impeachment for Mattarella. Also Matteo Salvini, who spoke from Terni (even before Mattarella spoke) where the regional congress of the League was taking place, used electoral campaign tones, reiterating that “we need to give the floor back to Italian citizens. No more servants to anyone, Italy is not a colony, even if it is now a country with limited sovereignty. Someone (referring to Mattarella, ed) will have to take responsibility for what happened". “If Professor Savona cannot be a minister because he has the defect of defending Italian citizens by questioning European rules, then he means that he is the right minister. If I go to the government I'll take prof. Savona”, added Salvini from Terni.
But someone - namely Lega and Cinque Stelle - will also have to explain why he wanted to deceive the Italians by taking Italy out of the euro by halving wages, pensions and savings without the citizens ever deciding to do so.
