Warning as Italian deputy says ‘stop the infighting or I’ll quit’

Italy’s deputy prime minister Mat te o S a l v i n i h a s war n e d that a government crisis will be unavoidable if his League par t y cannot star t working constructively with the 5-Star Movement, its coalition partner, within two weeks.

The warning came a day after prime minister Giuseppe Conte threatened to resign unless the two populist parties in the coalition government set aside their differences and continue working on the government programme.

Mr Salvini insisted he wanted to move for ward with the government agenda, but said a b r e a k t h r o u g h wa s n e e d - ed soon. “If we realize that in 15 days’ time we’re back here saying the same things, with the same delays and the same postponements, then it would be a problem,” Mr Salvini told Italian radio RTL.

The right-wing League and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement have been fighting constantly since they sealed a fragile government pact a year ago.

Mr Conte is a lawyer by training and his skills as a mediator were widely touted when he was tapped to head the coalition of two unaligned populist parties. His resignation would pave the way to a government crisis, leading the countr y to new elections, probably in the autumn, just ahead of a critical budget law that needs approval by the end of the year.

In a sign of peace -making, t h e u n e a s y c o a l i t i o n a l l i e s yesterday managed to reach an agreement on launching large-scale public works, but that was just one of the key economic measures the partners disagree on.

I t a l y ’s e x p e n s i v e b u d g e t plans have already worried t h e E u ro p e a n C o mmis s i o n and may lead to an excessive deficit procedure as soon as this week, with Rome facing fines for up to €3.5 billion.

T h e c o m m i s s i o n wa r n e d that, rather than shrinking, Italy’s debt has been on the rise this year and will continue to expand next year.

But neither the League nor t h e 5 - S t a r s s e e m wi l l i n g t o backtra ck on their promises after May’s European elect i o n s d r a s t i c a l l y c h a n g e d the balance of power within the government. Mr Salvini’s League doubled its popularity, topping 34 per cent in the EU vote, while the 5-Stars lost about half of their support at 17 per cent.

“Salvini can raise the pressure by asking for more and eventually force the 5-Stars to break away,” said Wolfango Piccoli, co-president of political consultancy firm Teneo Intelligence.

Po l i t i c a l u n c e r t a i n t y a l s o risks sending Italy’s borrowing costs spiralling again.

“This government is like the Tower of Pisa – it keeps leani n g , b u t a p p a r e n t l y n e v e r falls,” said Giovanni Orsina, director of the School of Government at Rome’s Luiss University.

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