Politicians debate as confidence vote in Italy's PM Conte draws closer

Record ID: 1596490

  • Title: Politicians debate as confidence vote in Italy's PM Conte draws closer
  • Date: 18th January 2021
  • Summary: ROME, ITALY (JANUARY 18, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF MONTECITORIO PALACE, THE LOWER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT BUILDING (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) ITALIA VIVA MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, LUIGI MARTIN, SAYING: "I would hold myself irresponsible at this moment, which is a very complicated moment in Italy's history, if I had said, you know what at this moment I'm gonna keep quiet, then I would be irresponsible, and I don't want to be irresponsible." (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) ITALIA VIVA MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, GENNARO MIGLIORE, SAYING: "I'll say very clearly: there is no personal discussion about Conte, we have asked to speak about particulars and we put our ideas on the table. The crisis in the government with or without Italia Viva doesn't resolve the crisis of ideas." (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) LEFT-WING LEU PARTY MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, FEDERICO FORNARO, SAYING: "We think in the middle of a pandemic and an economic crisis, the last thing we need is a government crisis." (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) DEMOCRATIC PARTY MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, WALTER VERINI, SAYING: "The government will win the confidence vote and then we will have to roll our sleeves up to start working for Italy because it is clear after the confidence vote we will have to confront problems altogether." MEDIA SURROUNDING POLITICIANS CONTE SUPPORTER GIUSEPPE MURIALE STANDING OUTSIDE PARLIAMENT HOLDING SOCCER SHIRT WITH CONTE'S NAME PRINTED ON THE BACK (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) CONTE SUPPORTER, GIUSEPPE MURIALE, SAYING: "I want to give my support to Prime Minister Conte, to all the Italians who are backing Conte, and all the Italians in difficulty." MURIALE HOLDING CONTE SOCCER SHIRT EXTERIOR OF PARLIAMENT
  • Embargoed: 1st February 2021 15:34
  • Keywords: Camera Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte chaos confidence vote lower house of parliament political crisis politics
  • Location: ROME, ITALY
  • City: ROME, ITALY
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Europe,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA002DVQE98N
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Members of Italy's lower house of parliament were divided ahead of a confidence vote on Monday (January 18) over whether Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's government should stay in power.
    The vote was called after former premier Matteo Renzi quit Conte's coalition, depriving him of an absolute majority and throwing Italy into political turmoil in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.
    Earlier on Monday, Conte appealed to parliamentarians from outside his government to rally to coalition ranks, saying he needed broad-based support to forge ahead with a pro-European agenda.
    The prime minister condemned Renzi's small Italia Viva party for abandoning the 17-month-old coalition. The party said it withdrew from the cabinet because it did not agree with the prime minister's handling of the twin coronavirus and economic crises.
    As the vote drew nearer, Italia Viva politicians had no regret over their decision.
    "I would hold myself irresponsible at this moment, which is a very complicated moment in Italy's history, if I had said, you know what at this moment I'm gonna keep quiet, then I would be irresponsible, and I don't want to be irresponsible," said Luigi Martin of Renzi's party.
    Looking to entice centrist and liberal lawmakers, Conte promised in his address to parliament to revamp his policy agenda and shake up his cabinet, saying he wanted to modernise Italy and speed up implementation of a recovery plan for the recession-stricken economy.
    The left-wing LEU party seemed to be on Conte's side. LEU parliamentarian Federico Fornaro said: "We think in the middle of a pandemic and an economic crisis, the last thing we need is a government crisis."
    Italia Viva has said it will return to the coalition if its policy demands are met, but both 5-Star and its main coalition ally, the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), have said they want nothing more to do with Renzi, accusing him of betrayal.
    The vote in the lower house is scheduled for sometime after 6.30 p.m. (1730 GMT), with Conte expected to cling to an absolute majority there. The crucial Senate vote is set for Tuesday afternoon.
    PD member of parliament Walter Verini was confident the fragile government would survive.
    "The government will win the confidence vote and then we will have to roll our sleeves up to start working for Italy because it is clear after the confidence vote we will have to confront problems altogether," he said.
    Outside parliament, a Conte supporter held a soccer shirt with the prime minister's name on it to offer his support.
    "I want to give my support to Prime Minister Conte, to all the Italians who are backing Conte, and all the Italians in difficulty," said Giuseppe Muriale.
    The two days of parliamentary votes will decide if Conte's fragile coalition can stay in power or if it has lost its majority, opening the way for what are likely to be prolonged negotiations on a new government.
    Attention is especially focused on the 321-seat Senate, where Conte looks certain to fall short of an absolute majority after his efforts to persuade centrists in opposition ranks at the weekend to rally to his side looked to have failed.
    (Production: Cristiano Corvino, Oriana Boselli, Emily Roe)
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