Sergio Mattarella – “emergency president”

Kremlin relations

On 21 July 2022, the President of the Republic of Italy signed a decree dissolving the full Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, which was countersigned by the President of the Council of Ministers.

Prior to that, talks were held between the president and Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who had resigned shortly before. 

“An early dissolution of parliament is always the last choice, especially when, as now, the Houses of Parliament are facing many important tasks that need to be resolved in the interest of the country … But the political situation that has arisen has led to this decision. The debate, the vote and the way this vote went yesterday in the Senate clearly showed the lack of parliamentary support for the government and the prospects of forming a new majority” – Mattarella commented.

Parliament of Italy 2021. Source: RIA Novosti

The date of the early elections is not yet known. According to the rules, elections must take place 60-70 days after the decree. The exact date will be announced after the meeting of the Council of Ministers of the country. 

Recently, the issue of confidence in the Council of Ministers was again raised in the Senate. The majority voted in favour of the Government: 95 out of 133 senators who voted. A total of 192 parliamentarians were in the conference room, although there were over 300.  But the three leading forces of the ruling coalition – «Movement of Five Stars», as well as the centre-right «Forward, Italy» and «League» – refused to vote.