"A choice as painful as it was due“. This is how Premier Draghi describes his decision to resign, while admitting that he shared the choice of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, to refuse them and make communications to Parliament. What presented itself today in the Senate is a Mario Draghi resolute, peremptory, sometimes tough, willing to continue only on condition that the parties stop with the ultimatums, because without national unity the scaffolding that has allowed the Executive to work in the last 17 months and to regain the role it deserves at the helm of the European Union collapses .
The crisis, Draghi stressed, cannot be ignored or minimized because it would leave the government at the mercy of moods and uncertainty. Then the direct challenge to all political forces: “Italy does not need a facade of trust, but serious and concrete. The only way - he said - if we still want to stay together, is to rebuild this pact from scratch, with courage, altruism, credibility. Gone, are you ready to rebuild it? You must give this answer to all Italians, not to me". A challenge to which, at least initially, some political forces present in Parliament react coldly. The exponents of the 5 Star Movement have never applauded the Premier's words. And at the end of his speech not even the League joined the chorus of applause.
Mario Draghi's speech
Mario Draghi's speech in the Senate he begins by retracing what happened over the last week: "Last Thursday I resigned in the hands of President Mattarella, the decision followed the loss of the majority of national unity who has supported this government since its inception. The President of the Republic rejected his resignation and asked to inform Parliament, a decision that I shared,” Draghi explained to the Senate.
The Prime Minister then claimed all the results obtained by your government in these 17 months. "The President of the Republic entrusted me with the task" of Premier with the aim of dealing with "three emergencies: pandemic, economic and social", "all the main parties, with one exception (Brothers of Italy, ed.), decided to respond positively to that appeal. In the speech I gave in this House, I referred to national unity, which in recent months has been the best guarantee of this government and its effectiveness. I believe that a Prime Minister who has never presented himself before the voters must have the broadest possible consensus ”.
“The reforms of justice, competition, taxation, procurement as well as the substantial simplification agenda are an essential step for Italy. To today all the objectives of the Pnrr have been achieved“, remarked the Premier. “The merit of the results” achieved “is yours, of your willingness to work in the interest of the country. Yours was the best response to the President of the Republic's appeal,” he added.
The “Italians supported the measures which we have fielded from time to time, have become real political protagonists, I am thinking of the patient respect during the restrictions of the pandemic, of vaccination, of the spontaneous welcome to Ukrainian refugees welcomed with affection and solidarity. I think of the local communities with the Pnrr: never like in these moments I was proud to be Italian".
Draghi: "Not voting for trust is an impossible gesture to ignore"
Then the lunge. With a tone that becomes increasingly harsh in the course of his speech, Mario Draghi does not mince words: “Not voting for the confidence of a government you belong to is an obvious political gesture. It cannot be ignored, it cannot be contained because it means that anyone can repeat it. It cannot be minimized, because it comes after months of snatches and ultimatums. The only way if we still want to stay together is rebuild this covenant from scratch, with courage, altruism, credibility. It is mainly the Italians who ask for it. The mobilization of these days is unprecedented and impossible to ignore. Two appeals struck me in a particular way: the first is that of about two thousand mayors, authorities accustomed to confronting the problems of their communities on a daily basis. The second is that of the healthcare personnel, the heroes of the pandemic, to whom our gratitude is immense,” said the Premier.
“In these months, national unity was the best guarantee of the democratic legitimacy of this executive and its effectiveness,” Draghi said. "I think that a Prime Minister who has never presented himself before the electors must have the broadest possible support in Parliament. This assumption is even more important in an emergency context, in which the Government has to make decisions that profoundly affect the lives of Italians. The very broad consensus enjoyed by the Government in Parliament has allowed it to have that timeliness in the decisions that the President of the Republic had requested. For a long time, the forces of the majority – Draghi noted – have been able to put aside divisions and converge with a sense of the State and generosity towards rapid and effective interventions, for the good of all citizens”.
Messages to the M5S: "We need interventions on wages and basic income"
Draghi then listed the measures that Italy will need in the near future. “Italy needs a government capable of moving effectively and promptly at least four fronts”. Which? The Pnrr, the reform of the public procurement code which, underlined the former president of the ECB "is the best way to honor the memory of Giovanni Falcone, Paolo Borsellino and the men and women of their escorts, thirty years after the their barbaric killing. But also the bill on competition and justice reform.
Actions are needed to “ensure decent wage levels for the most suffering groups of workers. Citizenship income is an important measure, but it can be improved to favor those most in need and reduce the negative effects on the labor market”, said the Prime Minister.
“We need a pension reform – he continued – which guarantees mechanisms of flexibility in leaving and a sustainable structure anchored to the salary system”. Then a message also to the League: "The bill" on competition, which also concerns taxis and beach concessions” must “be approved before the summer break. Now there is a need for convinced support for the executive's action” not support for sometimes violent protests. “We must continue the transition to clean sources. Droughts and anomalous heat waves” require “tackling the climate crisis seriously,” he added.
The Prime Minister also spoke of the Italian position on the war in Ukraine, reiterating what has been done so far: "the government identifies itself with Europe and NATO. The position is clear and strong in the heart of the EU, the G7 and NATO. We must support Ukraine in every way. As repeated yesterday to the Ukrainian president, arming Ukraine is the only way to help Ukrainians defend themselves”. he said.
Draghi: "No to facade trust, we need a new pact"
We need a government that is really strong and cohesive and a Parliament that accompanies it with conviction, in mutual respect for roles. Italy does not need a facade of trust, that it vanishes in the face of inconvenient measures. We need a new pact of trust, sincere and concrete, like the one that has allowed us up to now to change the country for the better. The parties and you parliamentarians – Are you ready to rebuild this covenant?”Draghi asked. “We are here in this House only because the Italians have asked for it. It is an answer that you must give to all Italians, not to me ”, he concluded.
The next steps
After the speech, the debate will follow and around 19.30 the expected vote of confidence from which the future of Italy will emerge: definitive Government crisis or continuation of the Executive. Tomorrow Draghi will instead be in the Chamber.
