The current Italian senator, former prime minister and head of the political party ‘Italia Viva’ (IV), Matteo Renzi will hold a press conference in the Italian Chamber of Deputies in Rome on January 13, 2021.
ALBERTO PIZZOLI | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – Former Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi announced on Wednesday his intention to pull his centrist party out of the ruling coalition, plunging the country back into political chaos as it fights a resurgence of the coronavirus.
During a highly anticipated press conference, Renzi said two ministers from his Italia Viva party would resign. It leaves the government without a majority in parliament and is on the verge of collapse.
Support from Renzi’s party was critical to the survival of the coalition led by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the center-left Democratic Party.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he hoped Renzi would not withdraw his ministers from the cabinet, warning that the country could not understand why the government had collapsed amid the ongoing health crisis.
The Five Star Movement and the Democratic Party had also urged Renzi to maintain the unity of the ruling government at a time when the country is trying to vaccinate citizens and prevent the economy from deteriorating further.
The Southern European nation is no stranger to political conflicts, tensions and scandals. The small majority in Rome has led to more than 60 governments since World War II.
However, the latest political dispute comes at a particularly painful time, with the number of coronavirus infections and deaths in Italy currently among the highest in Europe. The disagreement is over EU funds and how they will revive the Italian economy after the pandemic.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, Italy has recorded 2.3 million cases of Covid-19 and 79,819 deaths to date.
The country’s gross domestic product is expected to decline by about 10% in 2020.