Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigns, leaving an unclear path forward
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte submitted his resignation Tuesday in a move that preempted a looming vote of no confidence called by his interior minister, the far-right Matteo Salvini.
If his resignation is accepted by Italy’s president, it will mark the end of Western Europe’s first fully right-wing populist government after just 14 months in power and throw the country into a renewed period of political instability at a critical moment in the continent.
The president’s office said late Tuesday that Conte has been asked to stay in his post temporarily as consultations over a possible new government were expected to begin Wednesday.
Conte’s departure could usher in a more moderate coalition government.
But it also has the potential to empower Salvini to make his expected bid to lead the nation further to the right ahead of critical budget talks with the European Union and amid an ongoing standoff with Europe over Salvini’s hard-line stance on migration.
At: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/italian-premier-addresses-parliament-as-no-confidence-vote-looms/2019/08/20/0275b9e4-c2b9-11e9-8bf7-cde2d9e09055_story.html
Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and his deputy, Matteo Salvini.
Appointed only 14 months ago as a compromise with President Sergio Mattarella, the moderately conservative Conte had an uneasy relationship with his willful, far-right deputy.
