Chiara Albanese and John Follain
Bloomberg/YahooFinance
January 14, 2021
(Bloomberg) — Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is struggling to hold onto power after a junior partner in his coalition pulled out, robbing him of his majority in parliament.
Former Premier Matteo Renzi said Wednesday night that ministers from his Italy Alive party would quit the cabinet, attacking Conte for failing to do enough to tackle the country’s problems. Though the party is tiny, Conte relied on it to maintain his majority. Conte may seek a confidence vote in Parliament next week, newspapers including la Repubblica reported.
Renzi’s decision sparks a government crisis which could last days or even weeks, and has no clear solution in sight. Before making any other moves, Conte will have to formally accept the resignations of Renzi’s two ministers.
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