Italian PM Giuseppe Conte resigns in bid to seek new government

After weeks of turmoil, Italian politics is yet again entering uncharted waters, but this time in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic

Conte has proved remarkably adept at navigating the famously choppy waters of Italian politics, heading two governments since the 2018 elections

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Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has submitted his resignation to the president, in a move to secure a mandate for a new government after weeks of political turmoil. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:39pm, 26 Jan 2021Updated: 8:39pm, 26 Jan 2021

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned on Tuesday in the hope of forming a new government after weeks of turmoil in his ruling coalition, leaving Italy rudderless as it battles the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

President Sergio Mattarella accepted Conte’s resignation and “reserves the right to decide [what to do next] and invited the government to stay in office in a caretaker capacity”, an Italian presidency statement said.

The uneasy coalition that has led Italy since September 2019 was fatally weakened earlier this month by the withdrawal of former premier Matteo Renzi’s small but crucial Italia Viva party.

Ahead of a key vote in parliament this week that he looked set to lose, Conte’s office announced he would step down, in what supporters said was a move to form a new government. He gathered his cabinet around 9.30am, ahead of his visit to the president to seek a new mandate.

Mattarella will now open discussions with party leaders on a way forward, likely on Wednesday and Thursday – leaving a vacuum at the top of the euro zone’s third largest economy at a crucial time.

Italy was the first European country to face the full force of the Covid-19 pandemic and has since suffered badly, with the economy plunged into recession and deaths still rising by around 400 a day. Parts of the country remain under partial lockdown, the vaccination programme has slowed and a deadline is looming to agree plans to spend billions of euros in European Union recovery funds.