ROME: Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Tuesday announced he was resigning after making a scathing attack on his deputy and coalition partner Matteo Salvini for sparking of a new political crisis for "personal and party interests", reports said.

Salvini, the leader of the nationalist League party, had tabled a no-confidence motion against Conte, saying he could no longer work with his coalition partners Five Star.

The League and the populist Five Star Movement formed a coalition to govern just 14 months ago with Conte, an independent, as the Prime Minister.

Addressing the Senate, with Salvini and the other Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio sitting on either side, Conte said the League leader had been "looking for a pretext to return to the polls" since his party's success in European elections in May, reported the BBC.

The League had won 34 per cent of the votes in Italy, whereas Five Star got about 17 per cent.

Blaming Salvini for undermining the government and terming his actions "irresponsible" and allowing primacy of "personal and party interests," Conte said: "I take this opportunity to announce that I will present my resignation as head of government to the President of the Republic."

In his address, Salvini said that he was "not afraid of the judgement of Italians".

Five Star leader Di Maio also said that his party did not fear another election, while blaming the League for the government's collapse.

Conte was due to present his resignation letter to President Sergio Mattarella after the Senate debate.

Mattarella could call early elections but he could also decide to announce discussions with party leaders on forming a new coalition government. </s> Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Tuesday that he will submit his resignation to the president, ending Italy's 14-month-old populist government.

"At the end of the debate I will go to the President of the Republic to officially communicate the end of this government and present to my resignation to him," Conte said in a speech before the Senate.

Two weeks ago, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini made the surprise announcement that his far-right League no longer wanted to remain in an alliance with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, presenting a no-confidence vote and advocating for fresh elections.

What happens now?
• Conte will formally submit his resignation to Italian President Sergio Mattarella later on Tuesday.
• As head of state, Mattarella could reject the resignation, asking Conte to remain in his post to try and find an alternative majority in Parliament.
• He could also accept the resignation and see if another leader can form an alternative coaltion.
• Should those options fail, Parliament could be dissolved,setting the stage for snap elections as early as October.

During his speech before the Senate, Conte slammed Salvini, saying that he'd acted selfishly by choosing to end the country's governing coalition.

"It is irresponsible to initiate a government crisis," Conte said adding that the move "shows personal and party interests."

Conte, who belongs to neither party in the coalition, said that Salvini's decision puts the eurozone's third-largest economy at risk — exposing Italy to "a whirling spiral of political uncertainty and financial instability."

"Making citizens vote is the essence of democracy, asking them to vote every year is irresponsible," the prime minister said.

Salvini, who is also deputy prime minister, was seen shaking his head and rolling his eyes during Conte's speech, while members of his League booed at the Italian premier from their seats in the Senate.

Recent opinion polls have seen support for Salvini's anti-immigrant League party surge while support for the Five Star Movement has dropped significantly.

By trying to trigger early elections, analysts believe Salvini hopes to capitalize on his party's popularity and become Italy's next prime minister.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption Giuseppe Conte (L) presented a new list of ministers to President Sergio Mattarella

A coalition government has been agreed in Italy, ending months of uncertainty in the EU's fourth-biggest economy.

Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte presented his list of ministers to President Sergio Mattarella for the second time in a week and the new government will be sworn in on Friday.

Ministers are drawn from both the anti-establishment Five Star (M5S) and the right-wing League.

Attempts to form a technocratic government had failed.

Mr Mattarella rejected Mr Conte's original choice for economy minister but a different candidate was agreed on Thursday.

Conflict with EU not over

Analysis by BBC's James Reynolds in Rome

Four days of political and constitutional crisis are over. And a new populist government - led by law professor Giuseppe Conte - will now be sworn in.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Aiming to rule: The Five Star Movement's Luigi Di Maio (left) and the League's Matteo Salvini

In the end, the populist parties decided to back down and accept the president's veto of their original choice of a eurosceptic economy minister.

Their newly chosen minister, Giovanni Tria, is in favour of Italy's continued membership of the single currency.

But the populists' conflict with the EU is not entirely over. The M5S and the League have promised both new welfare spending and also tax cuts - which may run into conflict with the EU's spending rules.

League leader Matteo Salvini will be the interior minister. He has promised a tough new policy on migration, which may provoke arguments within Europe.

What deal was reached?

After meeting President Mattarella, Mr Conte confirmed reports that the new candidate for the key economy minister post would be economics professor Giovanni Tria.

M5S leader Luigi Di Maio and Mr Salvini said in a brief joint statement: "All the conditions have been met for a M5S-League government."

Image copyright EPA Image caption Paolo Savona will enter government after all - but not as economy minister

Other notable appointments to the new cabinet include:

Interior and Deputy Prime Minister: Matteo Salvini (League)

Industry and Deputy Prime Minister: Luigi Di Maio (M5S)

Foreign: Enzo Moavero Milanesi (independent, ex-European Affairs minister)

Defence: Elisabetta Trenta (M5S)

European affairs: Paolo Savona (independent), the controversial original choice for finance

"We will work intensely to realise our political objectives which we have already put together in our government contract," Mr Conte was quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency.

The new government is expected to be sworn in later on Friday.

After the ceremony, it will face confidence votes in both chambers of parliament, where the M5S and the League have a majority.

Italy is no stranger to political turmoil - it has had 64 governments since World War Two.

Mr Conte is taking over from Paolo Gentiloni, who led a coalition cabinet for two years.

How did we get here?

4 March: 5-Star wins 32% of the vote in the general election, with the League taking 18%.

The two populist parties eventually attempt to form a coalition, putting forward Mr Conte, a political novice, as prime minister.

28 May: Mr Conte presents his cabinet list to President Mattarella who vetoes the choice of Mr Savona as finance minister on the grounds that he is a eurosceptic. Mr Conte bows out. Both parties are furious and Mr Di Maio calls on parliament to impeach Mr Mattarella. The president asks ex-IMF economist Carlo Cottarelli to form a technocratic government until fresh elections can be held.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Carlo Cottarelli (left) was President Sergio Mattarella's choice for interim PM

30 May: Mr Cottarelli appears to suspend his own efforts to form an interim administration as Five Star and the League engage in new talks.

31 May: Mr Conte returns to the president with a new cabinet list, which is accepted. </s> Interior Minister Matteo Salvini gives a press conference after meeting social partners at the Ministry of the Interior to present the next Government Budget Law on August 6, 2019 in Rome, Italy.

The leader of Italy's ruling League party, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, said on Thursday the governing coalition had broken down and the only way forward was to hold new elections.

The shock announcement follows months of bickering between the right-wing League and its coalition partner, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, and it throws the euro zone's third-largest economy into an uncertain political future.

Salvini said in a statement that he had told Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte that the alliance with 5-Star had collapsed after little more than a year in power and "we should quickly give the choice back to the voters".

Parliament, which is now in its summer recess, could reconvene next week to carry out the necessary steps, Salvini said, referring to the need for a no-confidence vote in the government and the resignation of the premier.

Tensions came to a head on Wednesday when the two parties voted against each other in parliament over the future of a project for a high-speed train link with France.

5-Star has more parliamentary seats than the League, but Salvini's party now has twice as much voter support, according to opinion polls, and it has often threatened to try to capitalise on that popularity with new elections.

However, it remains to be seen if things will go as Salvini plans. Pushing the nation back into election mode in August, when Italians are on holiday and parliament is closed for the summer recess, would be unusual and potentially risky.

President Sergio Mattarella is the only person with the power to dissolve parliament, and may be unwilling to do so ahead of preparatory work in September for the 2020 budget, which must then be presented to parliament the following month.

Italy has not held an election in the autumn in all the post-war period. </s> ROME — The most nationalist, populist and dysfunctional Italian government in decades collapsed on Tuesday as the country’s prime minister announced his resignation in the face of a mutinous power play by the hard-line and increasingly popular interior minister, Matteo Salvini.

“The interior minister followed personal and party interests,” by calling for elections and pulling his support from the government, said Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte as he addressed an extraordinary session of Parliament that interrupted the usually sacrosanct Italian summer recess.

With Mr. Salvini seated beside him with raised chin, Mr. Conte took aim, accusing him of “political opportunism,” disregard for Italy’s institutions and thrusting the country into a “vortex of political uncertainty and financial instability.”

Circumventing a confidence vote that Mr. Salvini had promoted, Mr. Conte said he would go to the Quirinal Hill and tender his resignation to Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella. </s> ROME — Matteo Salvini effectively pulled the plug on Italy's coalition government on Thursday evening, prompting the prime minister to trigger a process that could lead to a snap election.

In a statement to the press, Salvini, the interior minister and one of two deputy prime ministers, said: "Let's immediately head back to parliament to ascertain this government no longer has a majority as appears to be clear from yesterday's [Senate vote]."

Salvini was referring to a parliamentary vote on Wednesday when his far-right League voted with the main opposition parties to reject a motion by its coalition partner the 5Star Movement to block a high-speed link between Turin and Lyon.

Salvini’s move prompted Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to officially trigger a process that could lead to snap elections as early as October.

In a late night address to the press, Conte said he called the speakers of the two houses of parliament, asking them to summon lawmakers back from recess for a confidence vote.

Salvini issued a statement saying "there is no alternative to the current government, the only alternative is the polls."

“Salvini came to speak to me to let me know he is planning to head back to the polls to capitalize his current popularity in a snap election,” Conte said.

“I told Salvini his move would jeopardize important reforms my government had initiated.”

5Stars leader Luigi Di Maio, the other deputy prime minister, sided with Conte, saying “Salvini made the government collapse to capitalize on his popularity.”

Earlier on Thursday, Di Maio said in a Facebook post: "We are ready to head back to the polls, the League mocked Italians."

A government split won't be official until a formal act takes place such as a no-confidence motion, the withdrawal of ministers from the Cabinet or the prime minister's resignation.

ITALY NATIONAL PARLIAMENT ELECTION POLL OF POLLS

It will then be up to President Sergio Mattarella to decide whether an election takes place immediately or if a caretaker government is installed to pass the 2020 budget in the fall.

A government collapse would cause major uncertainty for the European Union; Italy is the third-largest economy in the eurozone and is the EU's fourth most populous member. Italy has also not yet nominated its candidate for the next European Commission.

Earlier Thursday, Conte met Mattarella — who headed back to Rome from his summer residence for the talks — to discuss the situation. Two government officials said the prime minister did not offer his resignation or suggest a government reshuffle at the meeting. But soon after that meeting, Salvini issued a statement saying "there is no alternative to the current government, the only alternative is the polls."

At a rally in Pescara later on Thursday night, Salvini mentioned the likely government crisis only at the end of his hourlong speech, in which he broke down into tears at the end.

“If one believes in his own ideas, he has no fear … and I am not afraid of going at it alone,” he said, hinting at a general election.

He also reiterated his previous statement that League lawmakers are ready to head to parliament as early as next Monday.

“People are telling me parliament is in recess so I should wait until October … why would you call lawmakers back to Rome [in the middle of August], they say. But every day we wait is a day we lose … why would we wait? Our economy won’t wait for us,” he said.

Salvini concluded by saying “I’m looking forward to seeing lawmakers in parliament next week." </s> Italy to have first populist government as Giuseppe Conte asked to be prime minister again

Italy's president has tapped politically inexperienced law professor Giuseppe Conte to be the man who will head Italy's first populist government.

Italy's anti-establishment parties revived their coalition plans, ending three months of political turmoil by announcing a government that promises to increase spending, challenge European Union fiscal rules and crack down on immigration.

The coalition deal, following inconclusive elections in March, removes the risk of a repeat vote, a prospect that had sparked a big selloff in Italian financial markets this week.

The leaders of the right-wing League and the 5-Star Movement patched up their alliance after agreeing to substitute a eurosceptic they had initially proposed as economy minister, a nomination that had been rejected by the head of state.

"All the conditions have been fulfilled for a political, 5-Star and League government," 5-Star chief Luigi Di Maio and League leader Matteo Salvini said in a joint statement after several hours of talks in central Rome.

Just a few hours later their chosen prime minister Mr Conte, a little-known law professor who belongs to neither party and has not been elected, presented his list of ministers after receiving his second mandate in eight days.

"We will work with determination to improve the quality of life of all Italians," Mr Conte told reporters at the presidential palace after meeting the head of state Sergio Mattarella.

Mr Salvini will be the interior minister and Mr Di Maio will take a powerful, newly-created joint ministry made up of the labour and industry portfolios.

Both leaders will also be deputy prime ministers and many commentators have forecast that Mr Conte will have a tough time proving he can be more than a puppet in the hands of his powerful political sponsors.

His ministers will be sworn in on Friday before the government faces votes of confidence in both houses next week.

The deal followed an extraordinary few days in which Mr Di Maio called for Mr Mattarella to be impeached, Mr Conte and another prime minister-designate were tasked to form a government and failed, before Mr Conte was reinstated on Thursday evening.

Mr Mattarella even took the step of appointing former International Monetary Fund official Carlo Cottarelli as an interim prime minister until a re-election.

The breakthrough came after the League and 5-Star agreed to drop economist Paolo Savona as their choice for economy minister.

Mr Savona, an 81-year-old economist, had said previously that Italy should have a contingency plan to abandon the euro.

He will be substituted by economics professor Giovanni Tria, another little-known figure.

Mr Savona will be in government as European affairs minister, a less powerful role but one which will still allow him to negotiate with Brussels and speak on EU issues.

No sooner had the coalition deal been announced than friction flared with Brussels over remarks by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker about Italy's impoverished south. </s> ROME - Italy’s president begins consultations on Wednesday on seeing if there is any way another working coalition government can be formed following Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s resignation. The head of state wants to see if he can avoid dissolving parliament three-and-a-half years ahead of schedule. If not, the country will hold a snap general election in the fall.

President Sergio Mattarella is scheduled to meet all of the country’s political parties to see if a new coalition can be formed that will allow the present parliament, elected in March 2018, to continue to sit. The consultations follow the resignation of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, which he announced in the upper house of parliament Tuesday afternoon.

Conte said the decision of the League party which requested a no-confidence vote on the government had forced him to interrupt this government experience. Conte accused the League party leader and the country’s interior minister, Matteo Salvini, of bringing down the ruling coalition for personal and political gain.

Some two weeks ago, Salvini declared the coalition unworkable and called for a snap general election. Addressing the senators, Conte attacked what he called Salvini’s irresponsible and reckless behavior, saying it was “liable to tip the country into a spiral of political uncertainty and financial instability.”

Conte said Salvini took on a huge responsibility promoting this government crisis.

The outgoing prime minister said he was worried by Salvini's demand for “full powers” and his threat to call people into the country's squares if his drive for elections was thwarted.

For his part, when Salvini addressed the Senate after Conte, he said he would do everything again just as he had done, adding he is a free man and not fearful of what Italians would think. He said other parties were scared to go to elections because they were scared to lose their seats in parliament.

Salvini and his League party are riding high in opinion polls with just under 40 percent. His anti-immigration policies have served him well since he came to power.

The Italian president is likely to push for a quick decision and one that will avoid the dissolution of the current parliament. One possible scenario is a new coalition formed by the Five Star Movement and the Left Democrats party, a solution that is exactly what Salvini does not want.

But if the consultations fail, a general election could be held before the end of October at a time the country should be focusing instead on drawing up its 2020 budget. </s> ROME (Reuters) - Italy’s prime minister resigned on Tuesday after launching a blistering attack on his own interior minister, Matteo Salvini, accusing him of sinking the ruling coalition and endangering the economy for personal and political gain.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, addressing parliament after it was recalled from its summer recess to decide the future of the 14-month-old government, accused the far-right League party chief Salvini of seeking to cash in on his rising popularity.

In a shock move on Aug. 8, Salvini declared that his alliance with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement was dead and called for elections, but the gambit could yet prove a big political blunder and open the door to power for his rivals.

Politicians from 5-Star and the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) are openly discussing forming a new coalition which would push the League into opposition and give Italy a more centrist, pro-European government.

“The interior minister has shown that he is following his own interests and those of his party,” Conte told a packed Senate, a stony-faced Salvini sitting by his side. “His decisions pose serious risks for this country.”

He described Salvini’s actions as reckless and “liable to tip the country into a spiral of political uncertainty and financial instability”.

After the Senate debate Conte, who belongs to neither of the coalition parties, handed his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella, who said he would begin talks with parliamentary groups on Wednesday to see if a new coalition can be formed.

Failing that, Mattarella would have to dissolve parliament, 3-1/2 years ahead of schedule, to allow for autumn elections.

The consultations with party delegations will begin with minor groups at 1400 GMT on Wednesday. Mattarella will hear all the main parties on Thursday, concluding with 5-Star at 1500 GMT.

The PD’s leadership is also scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss the prospect of hooking up with 5-Star. The two parties have been bitter political foes for years.

Financial markets rallied on Conte’s resignation, seemingly hopeful that snap polls could be avoided.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, next to Italian Deputy PM Matteo Salvini, addresses the upper house of parliament over the ongoing government crisis, in Rome, Italy August 20, 2019. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

CHALLENGING EUROPE

Salvini at times shook his head, rolled his eyes or nodded to League senators as the prime minister accused him of being “irresponsible”, “reckless”, “alarming” and “disrespectful”.

Conte said he was worried by Salvini’s threat to call people into the country’s squares if his drive for elections were thwarted, as well as his demand for “full powers”.

“We do not need men who have ‘full powers’, but people who have institutional culture and a sense of responsibility,” he said in an hour-long speech in which he also denounced Salvini’s habit of brandishing the cross at his political rallies.

Touching on a particularly sensitive subject, he also said Salvini should provide explanations over allegations that the League attempted to obtain illegal funding from Russia through a covert oil transaction.

Salvini rejected Conte’s comments, saying other parties were afraid of going to elections and losing their influence.

He said his political goal was to challenge the European Union’s fiscal rules, which he has blamed for impoverishing the country. Rome should spend at least 50 billion euros ($55 billion) to stimulate the chronically weak economy, he added.

“I am not afraid,” he said. “I don’t want Italy to be a slave to anyone, and I don’t want Italy to be given a long chain like a little dog. I don’t want any chain at all.”

Italy has not held an election in the autumn since World War Two because the final months of the year are traditionally dedicated to drawing up the budget — a key moment for a country with one of the world’s largest debt mountains.

At the end of the parliamentary debate the League withdrew the no-confidence vote in the government that it had tabled earlier this month, but Conte said the move had come too late.

“I see that the League’s leader Matteo Salvini lacks the courage to take responsibility for his actions. If there’s a lack of courage, don’t worry, I’ll take responsibility before the country that is watching us,” said Conte.

Slideshow (14 Images)

Mattarella is likely to push for a swift decision by the 5-Star and PD on whether they can work together. Failing that, he will probably dissolve parliament and call a vote in late October or early November.

“They won’t be able to run away from elections for ever,” Salvini told reporters as Conte met the president.
Deputy Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Salvini presents a vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.