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Italy’s far-right leader, Matteo Salvini, has called for new elections as he urged the prime minister to reconvene parliament to confirm that the coalition government is no longer viable.
The dramatic move on Thursday came after months of fighting between his League party and the Five Star Movement (M5S).
The cavernous differences between the parties were clearly exposed on Wednesday when parliament rejected a motion by M5S to block a high-speed rail project linking Italy and France. M5S has built most of its popularity on vehemently opposing the long-stalled TAV but was outvoted by the League and opposition parties.
In a statement , Salvini, deputy prime minister and interior minister, said it was pointless continuing the government with all the quarrelling.
“Italians need certainty and a government that does things, not a ‘Mr No’,” he said.
“We do not want extra seats or ministers, nor do we want reshuffles or technical governments. After this government (which has done so many good things), the only thing is elections.”
Salvini said he told the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, to reconvene parliament straight away to “acknowledge that there is no longer a majority, as evidenced by the vote [on Wednesday] and the repeated insults against me.”
Luigi Di Maio, the M5S leader and co-deputy prime minister, said he was ready to return to the polls as “the League has mocked Italians”.
Salvini has been threatening new elections for weeks as the League flourished to 39% in opinion polls. Meanwhile, support for M5S has more than halved to 15% over the last year.
The Italian parliament is now on its summer break but it could reconvene next week. The government won’t move towards a collapse unless there’s a no-confidence motion or Conte resigns. It then rests with President Sergio Mattarella to dissolve the government and decide if the next step would be snap elections or the installation of a technical government in order to pass the 2020 budget in the autumn.
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