BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th August, 2019) The gap between Italy's warring coalition parties, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) and the right-wing Lega, seems to be widening, bringing the country's government one step closer to collapse.
On Thursday, Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte reportedly met with President Sergio Mattarella to discuss the political situation in the country as the two coalition parties have been quarreling over a range of policy issues for months.
Tensions increased even further on Wednesday when M5S and Lega voted against each other in parliament over a long-contested rail link project with France, which would connect the Italian city of Turin with France's Lyon. The project is strongly supported by Lega and opposed by its coalition partner.
TEAM THAT FAILED TO STAY AFLOAT
Also on Thursday, Lega, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, talked about the possibility of holding new elections, which it saw as the way out of the crisis.
"There is awareness and recognition that, after many good things that were done, the League and the 5-Star Movement for too long have had visions that are different on the fundamental issues for the country, such as major public works, infrastructure, economic development, the fiscal shock, the application of regional autonomy, justice reform and relations with Europe," Lega said in a statement as quoted by the Ansa news agency.
According to Pierre Vercauteren, a professor of political sciences at UCLouvain university, Belgium, many of Europe's "sovereigntists" saw Italy's ruling coalition, which was formed in June 2018, as a "dream team."
"M5S, dominant at the time of the national elections in Italy, was anti-system, more social than its partner, but was opposed - just like Lega - to the massive arrivals of illegal migrants, that have lasted already since 2014. Both parties are also opposed to the rigors of the European economic policies, imposed by Brussels to the eurozone countries. They both want to jump-start the trans-alpine economy with an expansionist economic program, and spending in public works, for example," Vercauteren told Sputnik.
Therefore, it seemed that the two parties could reach a consensus to successfully govern together, at least at first sight.
"But from the beginning, even choosing the prime minister was very difficult ... Giuseppe Conte is an active lawyer, not a politician, and remains neutral between the two partners. He complains regularly about the quarrels between the unruly coalition partners," Vercauteren stated.
He argued that one of the key problems was the rising popularity of Lega, headed by Salvini.
"His closure of the ports to migrants, his personal charisma rapidly led Lega to reach 37 percent to 38 percent of voting intentions, far ahead of an M5S who lost in one year half of its electorate, and has now downgraded from 32.5 percent to a mere 17 percent," the professor stressed.
Yet, M5S is still the largest party in parliament, and Salvini may be tempted to call new elections to confirm his party's leadership, Vercauteren said.
A source told Reuters on Thursday that Salvini was yet to inform M5S and Matarella about his plans for the future government.
And yet the Lega leader hinted at a rally on Wednesday that he might bring down the government, saying that something has "broken down in recent months."�
