Furious leaders call for fresh election
Italy’s populist parties demanded immediate fresh elections yesterday after they were prevented from forming a government by Sergio Mattarella, the Italian president.
Warning that they would reject plans for a caretaker executive, the leaders of the Five Star Movement and the anti-immigration League called for nationwide protests on Saturday and vowed to ‘‘win big’’ in fresh elections.
Both party leaders expressed fury at Europe’s political and economic elite after their choice of a staunchly Eurosceptic finance minister was vetoed by Mattarella in favour of Carlo Cottarelli, 64, a former IMF economist.
Di Maio, the Five Star leader, called for the president’s ‘‘impeachment’’ while Matteo Salvini, the League leader, fulminated that Italy was ‘‘not a colony’’ of Brussels, Paris or Berlin and that the coming elections would be a contest between ‘‘the people and the palace’’. Di Maio, referring to Italy’s Republic Day celebrations on Saturday, said: ‘‘I invite you all to come to Rome for a big event. It is important that we make ourselves seen and heard.’’
He was speaking after Mattarella requested that Cottarelli try to form a technocratic caretaker government in preparation for elections next year.
Both Di Maio and Salvini vowed not to support Cottarelli and called for elections straight away.
Their fury was backed by populists across Europe who were incensed that Mattarella had apparently bowed to pressure from the financial markets and leading French, German and European Commission figures warning against Italy breaking EU budget rules.
Marine Le Pen, the French National Front leader, said Mr Mattarella’s decision amounted to a ‘‘coup d’etat’’ while Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s former strategist, called the last 48 hours of political events in Italy ‘‘disgusting’’.
However Emmanuel Macron, the French president, praised his Italian counterpart for fulfilling his role as the guarantor of the country’s institutions with ‘‘courage and responsibility’’.
A large German business association also said its members were relieved. The appointment of Cottarelli – known as ‘‘Scissorhands’’ for his reputation for budget cuts – flatly contradicted the agenda of the two parties which had set out a €100 billion spending plan. – Telegraph Group