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> ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Thursday that the leader of the ruling League party, Matteo Salvini, must explain to Italians why he wants to bring down the coalition government.

Salvini, who is deputy prime minister and interior minister, said earlier that the coalition with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement had broken down and he called for new elections.

“It is not up to the interior minister to convene parliament or fix the agenda of a political crisis,” Conte said, vowing to go before parliament to ensure “the crisis (Salvini) has unleashed is the most transparent in the history of the republic”.

In his brief statement from the prime minister’s office, Conte, who is close to 5-Star, said he would no longer accept Salvini’s attacks on his ministers and accused him of relying on “slogans” to drum up support.

“He must ... justify to the voters who believed in the promise of change, the reasons that have led him to interrupt early and abruptly the work of government,” Conte said. </s> Italian deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini talks to journalists after he met with Entrepreneurs and Labor Unions representatives at the Viminale, the Interior Ministry building, in Rome, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019. (Maurizio Brambatti/ANSA Via AP)

MILAN (AP) — Italy faced a government crisis Thursday after Interior Minister Matteo Salvini of the right-wing League party called for a new election, saying his party’s coalition with the populist 5-Star Movement had collapsed over policy differences.

Premier Giuseppe Conte said he would convene Parliament, as requested by Salvini to seek a confidence vote, but showed his anger over what he called Salvini’s move to “abruptly interrupt the actions of the government.” He urged Salvini to explain himself to voters.

The governing two parties have been at odds over a host of policy issues but tensions spiraled Wednesday after the Senate rejected a move by 5-Star to kill a EU-funded high-speed rail link with neighboring France. The big infrastructure project — known in Italy as TAV — is backed by the League and seeks to improve rail links across several European nations.

As tones hardened, Salvini met with Conte on Thursday. After the meeting, Salvini issued a statement saying the TAV vote clearly showed that the ruling coalition had collapsed and called for a speedy election.

“Let’s go immediately to the Parliament and verify that there is no longer a majority, as was evident in the vote on the TAV, and quickly return the word to voters,” Salvini said.

If the government should lose a confidence vote, that could set the stage for a new election.

In remarks to journalists late Thursday, Conte chastized Salvini for urging lawmakers to interrupt their vacations for a speedy confidence vote. “It is not for the interior minister to decide the timing of a political crisis in which other institutional actors are involved,” the premier said.

Conte said he would be in touch with the speakers of both houses to work out when to convene Parliament.

“I already clarified with Salvini during our meetings that this crisis that he triggered will be the moist transparent crisis in the history of the republic,” Conte said.

In the event of a vote of no-confidence, it would be up to Italy’s president to call a new election if he found no way of salvaging the government. Both the League and the 5-Star Movement have said they don’t want to see a government formed of non-political technocrats.

The timing of any election is critical, as Italy must submit a budget in the fall — and needs a working majority to work out terms. The EU’s third-largest economy barely dodged an EU budget disciplinary process over its rising debt levels this year.

The 5-Star leader, Luigi Di Maio, responded to Salvini’s statement by saying his populist party was ready to go to a new election. But while Salvini wants immediate vote, Di Maio sought to postpone it until after parliament gave its final approval to a reform reducing the number of lawmakers, a vote that had been scheduled for early September.

Earlier Thursday, the right-wing League issued a statement complaining of deadlock with the 5-Star Movement on a variety of issues, saying “it is useless to go on” adding that “the only alternative to this government” is for a new election.

The high-speed train vote laid bare the deep divisions in the Italy’s 14-month-old government, with the 5-Stars opposing the rail link as costly and unnecessary and the League supporting it as necessary for the economy and its core base of northern entrepreneurs.

After the vote, Salvini told supporters in the coastal town of Sabaudia “that something broke in the last months” in the governing coalition.

Besides the high-speed rail-link, the League listed other areas of contention between the two parties, including fiscal policies, energy, justice reform, regional autonomy and relations with Europe.

In his comments Wednesday, Salvini noted that the 5-Star’s pet electoral promise, basic income, which the government passed, was a handout that did not create jobs.

Salvini is coming off another victory this week with the passage of a new security law that fines humanitarian rescue ships up to 1 million euros ($1.1 million) if they enter Italian waters with migrants. Preventing such ships from docking has been Salvini’s hallmark as interior minister.

After approving a basic minimum income and reversing an unpopular pension reform, the government bogged down during the European election campaign and never appeared to regain its footing.

Salvini’s anti-migrant, anti-NGO stance is credited with the League’s surge in popularity. After claiming just 17% of the vote in last year’s national election, the league won 34% in European elections this spring. Surveys put support for the party now at 38%.

The 5-Star Movement’s fortunes have sunk conversely, from nearly 33% of the vote in the national elections, giving it more seats in parliament than its partners, to just 17% in the European elections. Its support hovers at 17% currently.

Conte, who celebrated his 55th birthday Thursday, appeared bitter that his government experience appeared to be coming to an end, and took some swipes at Salvini, noting that the League is under investigation for allegedly taking funding from Russia and commenting on the League leader’s recent public appearances and press conferences on Italian beaches.

Most of all, he took issue with suggestions that the government was in a stalemate.

“I will not allow the narrative of a government that doesn’t function. Of a government of ‘No.’ This government in reality has always spoken little, and worked a lot,” Conte said. “This government wasn’t at the beach every day, but in the institutional seats to work from morning to night with respect for Italians.” </s> Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Tuesday that he would submit his resignation amid tensions between the two populist parties that comprise his government coalition: the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the far-right League.

The big picture: Earlier this month, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini declared the governing coalition unworkable and demanded fresh elections. Salvini's League party performed exceptionally well in the European Parliament elections earlier this year and is polling in first place nationally at about 38%, according to The Guardian. Salvini hopes to use a snap election to give the League an outright majority and make him prime minister, though his far-right party is still facing questions over a campaign finance scandal involving Russian funds. </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. </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 Getty Images Image caption Giuseppe Conte has faced allegations of inflating his CV

Italy's President Sergio Mattarella has accepted a political novice as prime minister, paving the way for two populist parties to form a government.

The anti-establishment Five Star Movement and right-wing League chose law professor Giuseppe Conte in a bid to end 11 weeks of political deadlock.

The 53-year-old has faced claims that he embellished his CV, which he denies.

Concerns remain over the two parties, which reject years of EU austerity and want to renegotiate Italy's debt.

Speaking after emerging from talks with the president, Mr Conte said: "Outside of this palace there's a country that rightfully awaits a new government and answers. What is about to be born is the government of change."

He added that he would be the "defender of all Italians on the international and European stage".

Italy has been without a government since elections on 4 March, because no political group could form a majority.

Two populist party leaders, Luigi di Maio of the Five Star Movement and Matteo Salvini of the League, finally agreed a coalition deal after days of talks and later nominated Mr Conte as their candidate to be prime minister.

The coalition deal promises tax cuts, a guaranteed basic income for the poor and deportations of 500,000 migrants - policies that are likely to put the eurozone's third biggest economy on a collision course with Brussels.

Mr Conte will now form a list of ministers to be approved by the president before a new government can be sworn in. The cabinet will then face a vote of confidence in parliament.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Populists poised to govern: Five Star Movement's Luigi Di Maio (L) and League's Matteo Salvini

Who is Giuseppe Conte?

Fifty-three-year-old Mr Conte, a professor of private law in Florence and Rome, is not an elected MP and until now has been completely unknown in politics. Since his nomination, he has been accused of inflating his academic resume in an effort to boost his international profile.

On a CV dating back to 2013, he said he had "perfected his legal studies" at New York University, but a spokeswoman for the institution said there was no record of him having studied there.

The resume also said he had carried out "scientific research" at Cambridge University's Girton College in 2001 - a spokeswoman for the university said it could not confirm or deny his claim citing data protection laws.

Mr Conte also said he had worked on his legal studies at the International Kultur Institut in Vienna, Austria. The school - which was misspelt on the CV - is in fact a language school and does not appear to offer legal courses.

The Five Star Movement defended its nominee on Tuesday, saying that Mr Conte had never claimed to have earned degrees abroad, but "went abroad to study, to deepen his knowledge, to perfect his English legal language skills".

It added: "The defamatory campaign is so explicit and crude that it will only strengthen us."

The Five Star Movement and The League named Mr Conte for the role of prime minister on Monday. Instead of immediately accepting the nomination, Mr Mattarella took some time to decide, as concerns rose in Italy over Mr Conte's lack of experience and questions over his CV.

He has also faced controversy over unpaid taxes and fines of over €50,000 (£44,000, $51,000).

With the president's green light it is now up for the parliament to decide on the coalition. The two parties have sufficient votes in the Chamber of Deputies, but only a small majority in the upper house, the Senate.

What do the parties want?

Italy was ravaged by the 2008 financial crisis that left the economy some 6% smaller and three million more people in poverty.

The policies promised by the parties are estimated to cost at least €100bn ($117bn; £88bn), experts say, for a country with the biggest public debt in the EU after Greece.

Other proposals include:

Poor families will get a €780 basic monthly income, provided recipients actively seek work

Two "flat tax" rates set at 15% and 20%, and families would receive a €3,000 annual tax deduction based on household income

Scrapping sales and excise tax increases next year, worth €12.5bn

Neither Five Star nor The League are fans of the single currency, the euro. League leader Matteo Salvini said not long ago that the euro was "a mistake" for Italy's economy, while Five Star had wanted a referendum on Italy's future membership.

But they have dropped their initial ambition of exit from the euro and now talk of trying to reform it from within. </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> 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.
Deputy Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Salvini presents a vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.