Several lawmakers from Italy’s ruling Five Star Movement (M5S) are ready to support Mario Draghi’s government, running counter to the official stance of party leadership, Italian media reported on Sunday.
According to la Repubblica, the number of dis-senting voices is not more than 30 out of the 165 M5S lawmakers in both houses of the parliament. They are set to cast a vote of confidence in the government if it appears on the agenda, or to express their support in other ways. This rift crystallized during the M5S assembly, which resumed on Sun-day after a long session the day before, Adnkronos news agency reported.
Another newspaper, il Messaggero, stated that the dissidents are ready to leave the faction altogether if the M5S sessions become suffused with the narrative that the government should not be sup-ported and M5S ministers should leave the cabinet. In this case, the lawmakers will transfer to a mixed parliamentary group or join a new faction, Together for the Future, created by the former M5S chair, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio. In late June, he left his own party, accusing its members of steer-ing away from the principles of Atlantic solidarity, when the M5S was split over whether to continue sending weaponry to Ukraine.
Over 60 lawmakers followed suit. The current M5S leader, former prime minister Giuseppe Conte, confirmed on Saturday evening that the party would only support the government if it adopted the eco-nomic stimulus program Draghi received last week. Italian media deemed this statement as a signal that Conte is ready to lend “external support” to the gov-ernment.
“With no clear answers and assurances, the Movement will not be able to share the direct re-sponsibility of government. We will feel free and even more responsible to be able to vote for what the country needs from time to time,” Conte said during a livestream on social media.—AP
