Mario Draghi Resigned as Italy’s Prime Minister for Good

July 21, 2022 (EIRNS)—Mario Draghi made his resignation as Italian Prime Minister irreversible today, after meeting with State President Sergio Mattarella. Draghi will now form a caretaker government to deal with urgent matters until the date of early elections, set for Sept. 25.

Despite receiving a majority of votes in the Senate yesterday, Draghi resigned, because several components of his old majority did not accept his blackmail. Draghi had in fact set as a condition for him to stay, that all government coalition parties, including Five Star Movement (M5S), would renew their support of his government. Not only did the M5S reiterate its intention to break with the coalition, but the Lega and Berlusconi’s Forza Italia also broke ranks. Thus, the crisis took the bizarre aspect that for the first time, a government is voted up by Parliament, but nevertheless resigns.

Some observers see a predetermination by Draghi to impose conditions so strict, that a failure would be inevitable, allowing him to leave the seat before it gets too hot in view of the coming economic and social storms. Columnist Massimo Gramellini hit a key point in a Corriere della Sera commentary: “Given that Conte and Salvini had the same position on the war [in Ukraine], the real mystery is not that the government fell, but how it managed to last until now.”

Other aspects of Draghi’s speech in the Senate came under attack from several angles. For instance, Draghi the “anti-populist” made the most populist speech ever by stating that he was there “because Italians want it,” forgetting that in a representative democracy and especially in a parliamentary system, the executive responds only and uniquely to Parliament. Senate factions then found the byzantine way to produce a vote that did not fulfill the conditions set by Draghi to continue his mandate, at the same time not taking direct responsibility for his resignation.