Infighting
within Italy's ruling coalition leads to the resignation of the
country's prime minister, barely a year into his term.
By Sharon Marris, news reporter,
Image:Matteo Salvini (L) sat next to Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte as he resigned
The Italian prime minister has announced he will resign after
his populist government lost the support of a key coalition member -
Matteo Salvini's League.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte launched a
fierce attack on Mr Salvini, who served as deputy PM as well as interior
minister, accusing him of trying to ruin the ruling coalition for
personal and political gain.
Earlier this month, Mr Salvini pulled the plug on his party's
alliance with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, after months of
bickering over key policies.
Mr Conte told a packed Senate that Mr Salvini "has shown that he is following his own interests and those of his party.
"His decisions pose serious risks for this country."
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He described Mr Salvini's actions as "serious institutional
recklessness, above all showing disrespect to parliament and liable to
tip the country into a spiral of political uncertainty and financial
instability".
Image:Matteo Salvini wants to exploit the League's popularity by forcing an early election
Later today Mr Conte will now inform Italy's president, Sergio Mattarella, of his decision.
Mr Mattarella could then ask Mr Conte to stay on and try to find an
alternative majority in parliament. Or he could accept the resignation
and allow another leader the chance to put together a coalition.
If these fail, Mr Mattarella could dissolve parliament and hold a new election as early as October.
Image:Matteo Salvini was congratulated by members of his League party after his speech
Sitting next to Mr Conte, who does not belong to either of the
coalition's two parties, Mr Salvini shook his head and rolled his eyes
as his actions were criticised.
With his right-wing party
experiencing growing popularity, Mr Salvini wants to force an election
more than three years ahead of schedule.
Responding to Mr Conte's
accusations, Mr Salvini said his goal was to challenge the European
Union's fiscal rules, which he has blamed for making Italy poorer.
He
also said he was not afraid of an early election, adding that he would
"do again everything I did... I'm a free man and I don't fear Italians'
judgement".
Image:Mr Conte with Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Labour Minister Luigi di Maio (R)
Earlier in the day, Luigi Di Maio, head of the 5-Star Movement, had
hinted at what might be coming, with a Facebook post thanking the prime
minister.
He wrote: "Whatever happens, I wanted to tell you that it was an honour to work together in this government."
The
Italian stock market index fell by more than 1% on the news as
investors moved towards safe-haven assets such as government bonds.
