Mario Draghi said he would resign as Italian prime minister on Thursday after a party in his ruling coalition failed to participate in a confidence vote.
I will submit my resignation to the President of the Republic tonight,” Draghi said in a statement from his office.
“The coalition of national unity that supported this government no longer exists,” added Draghi, the former president of the European Central Bank who has been prime minister of a broad coalition since February 2021.
The confidence vote had become a focal point for tensions within Draghi’s government as the parties prepare to fight each other in a national election due in early 2023.
The five-star party’s decision to boycott Thursday’s confidence vote had plunged Italy into political uncertainty and risked undermining efforts to secure billions of euros in EU funds, tackle a damaging drought and its reliance on Russian gas. to decrease.
Draghi raised the stakes, saying he wouldn’t want to lead a government without 5-Star, which emerged as the largest party in the previous elections in 2018 but has since suffered defections and a loss of public support.
It could lead to national elections in September or October after other coalition parties said a vote would be required if 5-Star no longer supported the government.