ROME (Reuters) – Prime minister designate Mario Draghi is holding formal consultations with Italy’s parties in an attempt to find enough backing in parliament to form a government.
Italian markets have rallied on the expectation the former European Central Bank chief will be successful and can announce a cabinet by next week.
However, only two significant parties have so far fully committed to backing Draghi. Here are the parties’ positions as set out by midday Friday.
THE LIKELY “YES” CAMP
DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PD)
The centre-left PD, a member of the outgoing coalition, has said it would back Draghi.
ITALIA VIVA
Former premier Matteo Renzi’s small centrist party, which triggered the downfall of outgoing Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, has pledged its unconditional support for Draghi.
FORZA ITALIA
The conservative party of four-times prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, the fourth largest group in parliament, has made clear it would like to back Draghi, but in doing so it would strain its alliance with its rightist partners the League and Brothers of Italy.
THE WAVERERS
5-STAR MOVEMENT
The largest party in parliament, 5-Star is close to Conte. It backed him to remain in office and said it would not support any other prime minister. In the past it has also said it would not form a majority with Forza Italia, its sworn political enemy. Moreover many members of 5-Star, with its origins as an anti-austerity, anti-establishment movement, have trouble with the idea of backing a government led by a former ECB president. However, it has promised to listen to what Draghi has to say, leaving the door open to a possible deal.
THE LEAGUE
Matteo Salvini’s party, the second largest in parliament, would find it hard to join a coalition with the PD. Salvini said on Thursday it would also not back Draghi if he were supported by 5-Star. On a policy level, many League politicians and voters are eurosceptic and would baulk at the idea of supporting a former ECB chief. But backing Draghi would help moderate its image — something some party veterans are pushing. It would also give them influence over how the EU recovery fund will be spent — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Newspapers have speculated that in the end, the League will abstain, but Salvini dismissed this on Friday, saying: “We are either in or out.”
LEU
The smallest party in the outgoing coalition, LEU said on Friday it would not back a Draghi administration if it includes the League.
THE ‘NO’ CAMP
BROTHERS OF ITALY
The far-right, eurosceptic party has ruled out backing a Draghi government. However, its leader Giorgia Meloni has said it would consider abstaining if that were the joint position taken by its allies the League and Forza Italia.
Reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by Crispian Balmer
