The resignation of Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, amid infighting in the ruling coalition, has pushed the country, one of the worst-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, into another phase of political instability. Mr. Conte, a former law professor who first formed the government in 2018, resigned after a small coalition partner, Italia Viva, led by former PM Matteo Renzi, left after differences over the way the government was tackling the outbreak and its plans to spend the $243 billion EU virus fund. Italy, which has seen more than 65 governments in the last 70-odd years, is no stranger to political instability. But the difference now is the unfolding of the crisis amid the struggle to contain the virus infection that has claimed over 85,000 Italians; hundreds of people are dying every day. The vaccination programme, which the government rolled out in recent weeks, has been criticised for being too slow (the government has blamed drugmaker Pfizer for poor supply). Parts of Italy are still under lockdown. The economy, which was battling multiple crises even before COVID-19 struck, is estimated to have contracted by 8.9% last year. All these point to an unprecedented crisis which demands a bold response plan from the country’s leaders. But its politicians, as the fall of the government shows, are busy fighting one other.
Mr. Conte, who has retained over 50% approval ratings as PM despite the health-care and economic crises, often struggled to navigate the treacherous waters of coalition politics. He was picked by the populist Five Star Movement in 2018 to head the government which it formed with the far-right Lega Nord. After the Lega Nord exited the coalition in 2019 in the wake of a corruption scandal, Mr. Renzi, who was then leading the centre-left Democratic Party, supported Mr. Conte to form another government. Since then, Mr. Renzi, who left the Democratic Party and formed Viva Italia, grew critical of Mr. Conte’s leadership. Their differences have led to the fall of Mr. Conte’s second government in less than three years. The current crisis could be as much about Mr. Conte’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis as it is about their power struggle. The ball is now in President Sergio Mattarella’s court. He could ask Mr. Conte to form another government or entrust some other leader with enough support with the job. If no party manages to win a majority in Parliament, the President could call snap elections. That is the last thing Italy wants now, and its politicians should realise that their first priority should be to arrest the infection wave, step up the vaccination programme and lift the economy out of the deep contraction it is in. For that, the country needs a stable government with a plan of action.
