Italy's president holds government crisis talks as Trump backs Conte's return as PM
Record ID:
1428818
Italy's president holds government crisis talks as Trump backs Conte's return as PM
- Title: Italy's president holds government crisis talks as Trump backs Conte's return as PM
- Date: 27th August 2019
- Summary: ROME, ITALY (AUGUST 27, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, GAVIN JONES, SAYING: "Well, now it looks as though the 5-Stars and the PD are on the home straight of negotiations. Yesterday (August 26) evening things looked much smoother, it seemed that they were just about to clinch a deal to form a coalition. Now they seem to be a lot of squabbling, a lot of bickering about government positions, possibly about policy and we still do not know if this is just a last-minute tactics to gain the upper hand and to get as many government posts as possible. Or if it could actually be the sign that things are going to fall apart. This government crisis has been at twists and turns since it began about two weeks ago and it is full of surprises and we still have to find out." JONES' EYES (SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, GAVIN JONES, SAYING: "Well, Wednesday (August 28) is when all the talking has to stop, they have to go to the president and they have to say 'we have a deal' or 'we don't have a deal'. The president gave them until Tuesday (August 27) and he extended it by a day and he has made it clear that if they don't go to him on Wednesday (August 28) with a clear picture of exactly what they want to do, he'll dissolve parliament and call elections. So that is a real deadline." JONES' HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, GAVIN JONES, SAYING: "Right now, we are looking at the main scenario that seems to be the 5-Stars and the PD, these two traditional enemies look as if they are ready to form a deal and form a government together, sidelining Salvini from the hard-right League party and who is the one who actually brought the previous government down. That's how it looks at the moment, if this falls apart other two scenarios potentially come into play. The main one would be a snap election in the autumn. There is also a very outside chance at this point, that the previous coalition could be resurrected between Salvini and 5-Star but I'm not at all sure there is still time to do that because the President has indicated that if he doesn't have a clear deal presented to him on Wednesday, he will just dissolve the parliament and call elections."
- Embargoed: 10th September 2019 17:15
- Keywords: Italy Rome Speaker of Senate Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati consultations talks political crisis President Sergio Mattarella Speaker of the Lower House Roberto Fico
- Location: ROME, ITALY / INTERNET
- City: ROME, ITALY / INTERNET
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA005ATZV1HJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Tuesday (August 27) began the second round of consultations as the climate improved in party talks to form a new government.
After setbacks in the morning, the roller-coaster talks between the anti-establishment 5-Star and the centre-left PD appeared to be back on track later in the day, with upbeat comments from both sides prompting a strong market rally.
Speakers of the two Italian houses, Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati and Roberto Fico, separately met Mattarella but did not release any comment as the situation is still unclear, as Reuters journalist Gavin Jones explained.
"Now they seem to be a lot of squabbling, a lot of bickering about government positions, possibly about policy and we still do not know if this is just a last-minute tactics to gain the upper hand and to get as many government posts as possible. Or if it could actually be the sign that things are going to fall apart", he said.
The PD and 5-Star are due to report back to Mattarella on Wednesday (August 28) and if no deal is sealed by then, he will name a caretaker government and call early elections.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who belongs to no party but is close to 5-Star, resigned last week after League chief Matteo Salvini declared his 14-month coalition with 5-Star was dead, seeking to capitalise on his surging popularity by triggering elections.
The move has not gone to plan, as 5-Star and the PD seek to form a coalition of their own, pushing the League into opposition.
In the morning, the PD accused 5-Star of undermining the formation of a new cabinet by demanding the interior ministry for its leader, Luigi Di Maio, which 5-Star denied, and the parties cancelled a scheduled meeting.
Despite the later upbeat comments tensions remain and the situation is fluid and hard to predict.
The PD says Di Maio is insisting on holding on to the role of deputy prime minister that he held in the outgoing government, something it considers unacceptable if Conte is to stay on as premier.
It remains to be seen if the exchanges are merely tactics to secure the upper hand in negotiations over cabinet jobs, or whether they have the potential to scupper a deal between the two parties which have always been bitter adversaries.
U.S. President Donald Trump weighed into Italy's government crisis, saying it was looking likely that Conte would be reinstated as Italian prime minister and he hoped to see him back in office.
"Starting to look good for the highly respected Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, Giuseppi (sic) Conte," Trump said on Twitter. "A very talented man who will hopefully remain Prime Minister", he added.
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