Italian political parties prepare to call early elections

Italian political parties are already preparing for the possible call for early elections, although they continue to try to convince Prime Minister Mario Draghi to reverse his decision to resign.

Various party sources have confirmed that preparations have been launched for a possible electoral contest to be held on September 25, according to Democratic Party leader Enrico Letta, one of the main advocates of Draghi’s continuity.

The next milestone in this complex political process will be on Wednesday, when Draghi will appear before Parliament at the request of the president, Sergio Mattarella, who has rejected his resignation.

Internationally, the timing is also problematic, with the war in Ukraine and a possible cutoff of Russian natural gas having accelerated the prospects of a global economic crisis.

The polls are led by Brothers of Italy, a conservative formation led by Giorgia Meloni that does not support the concentration government headed by Draghi.

The current crisis has been sparked by Giuseppe Conte’s Five Star Movement, who refused to support a government aid bill as insufficient. Draghi has stated that he will not remain in office if this formation does not back down and support him.

In that situation, the conservative Forza Italia party seems to have assumed that there will be elections, since Antonio Tajani, its leader, has summoned Draghi to remain as Prime Minister even if the M5S. Matteo Salvini’s ultra-right-wing League completes the political picture.

The second most voted party in the last elections only behind the League, the M5S, is divided between those who bet on Draghi’s continuity and those who prefer a breakup to try to revive the formation’s electoral options.

Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has assured in an interview published Saturday by ‘Il Messagero’ that he is working “day and night to form a new government headed by Draghi.”

“With a war, inflation and the tightening of the European Central Bank’s monetary policy if one party leaves the government it will cause great damage to the country,” warned university professor Veronica De Romanis, who therefore does not rule out a recomposition of the coalition that supports Draghi. “Draghi will not leave because he would be on the wrong side,” she has opined.