Mario Draghi is already at the Quirinale. The government crisis is officially open. The 5 Star Movement left the classroom and therefore did not vote for confidence in the Aid Decree. The same position will be maintained in the final vote on the provision which contains the now contested rules on the Superbonus and on the Rome waste-to-energy plant.
Nonetheless, the government gained confidence with 172 votes in favor and 32 votes against. All 61 pentastellati senators are absent.
Dragons at the Quirinal
Now the decision is up to Premier Draghi. Before the vote, the Premier's position seemed clear: "without Movimento 5 Stelle the Government will not go ahead", sources from Palazzo Chigi have repeatedly stated.
Immediately after the vote of confidence, the Prime Minister has gone up to Colle to discuss what to do with the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella. The choice, confirmed by the Quirinale, is exclusively political, given that the government has gained trust and Draghi would have the numbers, even if reduced compared to the past, to move forward. A council of ministers was scheduled for this afternoon, but it was cancelled.
The position of the centre-right
In the meantime, since this morning there have been repeated contacts and meetings in the center-right to try to advance a common line. Go to the vote or support the continuation of the Draghi Executive?
“The numbers show that the government could continue its work until the end of the legislature even without the M5S. FI, in continuity with the attitude of responsibility that has always characterized his action, respectfully awaits the decisions of President Draghi and the indications that the head of state will give. It is clear and undeniable that any early elections in such a delicate moment for Italy will be attributable solely to the irresponsible attitude of the 5S. If it were to happen, going to the polls doesn't worry us: indeed we are sure that the electoral result would reward the center-right ", he said Silvio Berlusconi in a note.
A more articulated position than that of Salvini who yesterday said: "the ballot boxes are better than this rigmarole". On the other hand, the current Minister of Economic Development and leading exponent of the League is more wait-and-see, Giancarlo Giorgetti: “There is always extra time,” said the minister.
The position of the Democratic Party and Di Maio's attack
From the Pd, before the vote of confidence the secretary Enrico Letta has made it known that he is not willing to keep anyone going. In Parliament "we will say that we are available for a continuation of this Draghi government, we are not available for anyone to get by: if the conditions are not met, if other majority parties withdraw, then the word will pass to the Italians and we will be ready to go in front of the Italians with our project for the future of Italy. A majority without the M5s “seems to me a totally improbable hypothesis. After that Parliament is sovereign, so we will listen to everyone,” Letta said.
Luigi Di Maio instead he attacked his former party comrades during the course: “The M5S leaders had been planning for months to open a crisis to put an end to the Draghi government. They hope in 9 months of electoral campaign to recover in the polls, but in doing so they only condemn the country to the economic and social abyss. We could not be complicit in this cynical and opportunist plan, which is dragging the country into early voting and economic and social collapse,” said the foreign minister.
Matteo Renzi's alternative
In the morning, during his speech in the Senate, the leader of Italia Viva, Matteo Renzi he stated: “The debate of these hours has not been a serious matter. I say to the M5S that if one opens a crisis in a moment of difficulty, he has every right to do so. I wouldn't be credible if I said otherwise. If the M5S has chosen not to vote for trust, this is legitimate and the moralistic design of those who say otherwise is not acceptable. But if you decide not to vote for trust, then you sign it letter of resignation of ministers and undersecretaries. Because it's ridiculous. Where is the Minister of Agriculture? What does it do? Vote trust? Because there is a limit of dignity and decency that you have surpassed in these hours ”, continues the leader of Italia viva speaking in the Senate for the explanation of vote on the trust placed by the Government in the Aid decree. "Nothing - Renzi reiterates - justifies the end of the government". Statements that seem to suggest an alternative: viz the arrival of a Draghi bis with new ministers.
