Italians set to head back to the polls
Populists warn vote will be a plebiscite on the European Union and the euro
Italian populists have vowed to convert voter anger over their thwarted bid to govern for the first time into a kind of plebiscite on the European Union, financial markets and eurozone membership as the country finds itself propelled to fresh elections.
Amid the political turmoil, Carlo Cottarelli, an economist with International Monetary Fund experience, was asked by Italian President Sergio Mattarella to assemble a technocrat government to take the country to elections.
With weeks of political uncertainty taking a toll on Italy’s bond and stock markets, Premier-designate Cottarelli said the return to the polls could come as early as after the August vacation break or, at the latest, at the start of 2019.
Only five days ago, another Premier-designate, political novice Giuseppe Conte, stood in the same spot in the Quirinal presidential palace and declared he would he would work to create a “government of change” in what would have been Italy’s — and western Europe’s — first populist government.
That dream deflated dramatically on Monday when Mattarella refused to submit to populist demands that he approve their proposed economy minister, who in the past has recommended having a “Plan B” to exit the eurozone if EU strictures become too tight for Italy.
“This isn’t democracy, this isn’t respect for the popular vote,” railed Matteo Salvini, a firebrand populist whose right-wing League was one of the anti-EU parties foiled by Mattarella.
“It’s just the last gasp of the strong powers who want Italy as a frightened, precarious slave,” he said.
“The next elections will be a plebiscite: The people and real life versus the old castes and the Lords of the Spread,” Salvini said, referring to financial speculators.
Milan-based economist Nicola Nobile said it appeared that the upcoming election could shape up as a “de facto referendum on Italian membership in the eurozone”. Sharing Salvini’s anger was 5-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio, the populist who had hoped to govern with Salvini.
Di Maio repeatedly called for Mattarella’s impeachment for vetoing their pick for economy minister.
When Italians voted on March 4, the result was a Parliament with no clear-cut majority.