Italian prime minister resigns, again

Last week, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi offered his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella, but the president refused it, sending him back to the Senate for a confidence vote Wednesday. In Italy, the prime minister is supposed to unify the parties, which Draghi has been doing for the past 17 months. He won the confidence vote Wednesday and has garnered public support. But three parties in the coalition said they would not take part in the vote, and Draghi said their non-participation made his confidence vote a hollow victory. On Thursday he resigned again, and the president “took note” of it and asked him to remain in a caretaker capacity until a new prime minister is selected. 

Why did he resign? Last week, the Italian Five Star Movement refused to back Draghi’s government bill that proposed economic aid for families and businesses after COVID-19. Early in his career, Draghi said he would not lead if the Five Star Movement, a populist party that used to hold the majority, did not back him.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Onize Ohikere’s report in World Tour on what happened the last time an Italian prime minister stepped down.