“Republican Union” is the name of the coalition loyal to the resigning Prime Minister Mario Draghi, which seems to be forming in the centre-left camp in view of the parliamentary elections. The Social Democrats (PD) and a number of small parties such as “Italia Viva” around ex-Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and “Azione” around ex-Industry Minister Carlo Calenda want to join this.
Draghi has been coldly dropped by three of the parties in his coalition, which paved the way for snap general elections on September 25 in Italy. Five stars, Lega and Forza Italia overthrew Draghi out of political calculation and hope to benefit from new elections. The betrayal of Draghi caused a stir, but a coalition is now emerging that wants to implement the prime minister’s agenda.
This goal is being set by a group of centre-left parties targeting the votes of the many Draghi fans. They are citizens who have come to appreciate the prestige and skills of the former head of the ECB, who want stability in Italy and want to reward those parties in elections that aim for competence, seriousness and reforms.
The Minister for Public Administration, Renato Brunetta, also wants to join the Draghi Front. After nearly three decades, he left his party Forza Italia in protest at party leader Silvio Berlusconi’s call to overthrow the Draghi government. Brunetta criticizes that this decision was taken behind the backs of the Forza Italia ministers in Draghi’s government. All three Forza Italia ministers have since left Berlusconi’s party.
“Forza Italia’s exit from the government was an act of irresponsibility motivated by temporal opportunism,” protests Brunetta, who now wants to pull the strings of the new “Republican Union”. Lega boss Matteo Salvini had persuaded Berlusconi to overthrow Draghi out of political calculation. “Salvini saw the Lega’s reputation deteriorate month by month, while coalition competitor Fratelli d’Italia gained popularity,” Brunetta argued.
Never before has a government crisis in Italy had such great geopolitical significance. In Brussels, the Italian prime minister’s disempowerment is already being compared to the Brexit referendum of June 2016. Draghi’s fall is not seen as one of Italy’s many government crises, it is seen as a negative sign for all of Europe amid the Ukraine war, energy crisis and inflation. “We have experienced a collective suicide of Italian politics. This government crisis is not just an Italian issue, it is also a European one,” said Social Democrat leader Enrico Letta.
New elections in Italy might now bring a coalition of right-wing parties led by the post-fascist “Brothers of Italy” to power. At least that’s what current surveys suggest. Concerns regarding their relationship to Europe are appropriate. Much is at stake for Italy. The country will only receive aid from the EU reconstruction fund if the promised reforms have been completed. However, if there are delays, the funds will be withheld. Italy will have to wait several more months for a viable government. In the meantime, the country is a political laboratory in which new groups are formed, alliances are forged and election programs are created. It remains to be seen whether they will bring real stability to the country.
The government coalition around Draghi collapsed on Wednesday. Prime Minister Draghi, who has been in office since February 2021, then submitted his resignation. Early parliamentary elections are scheduled for September 25th. So far, Italy has never elected its parliament in the fall.