Current Italian senator, former prime minister and head of the political party “Italia Viva” (IV), Matteo Renzi holds a press conference on January 13, 2021 at the Italian Chamber of Deputies in Rome.
ALBERTO PIZZOLI AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Wednesday announced his intention to withdraw his centrist party from the ruling coalition, plunging the country into political chaos as it fights the resurgence of the coronavirus.
At a long-awaited press conference, Renzi said two ministers from his Italia Viva party would resign. It leaves the government without a majority in parliament and on the verge of collapse.
Renzi’s party’s support had been instrumental in the survival of the coalition led by the Five Star anti-establishment movement and the center-left Democratic Party.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he hoped Renzi would not remove his ministers from the cabinet, warning that the country would not be able to understand why the government had collapsed in the midst of the ongoing health crisis.
The Five Star Movement and the Democratic Party had also urged Renzi to preserve the unity of the ruling government at a time when the country is trying to vaccinate citizens and prevent the economy from deteriorating further.
The nation of southern Europe is no stranger to political conflict, tensions and scandals. The meager majorities in Rome have led to more than 60 governments since World War II.
However, the latest political dispute comes at a particularly painful time, with the number of coronavirus infections and deaths in Italy currently among the highest in Europe. The disagreement focuses on EU funds and how they will relaunch the Italian economy after the pandemic.
To date, Italy has reported 2.3 million cases of Covid-19 and 79,819 deaths, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
The country’s gross domestic product is expected to fall by around 10% by 2020.