Conte to Return as Italy’s Prime Minister

After days of political uncertainty that followed the resignation of Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte, the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) reached an agreement to form a coalition government with the center-left Democratic Party (PD) on August 29. The new coalition is likely to nominate Giuseppe Conte again to lead the government as the prime minister of Italy, much to the dismay of Matteo Salvini from the far-right The League party. A no-confidence motion pushed by Salvini, the deputy prime minister of the last coalition government, on August 13 had led to the resignation of Conte on August 20.

The Locale.it reported that Italian president Sergio Mattarella gave Giuseppe Conte a mandate today to form a new government between the PD and the anti-establishment M5S. According to reports, the new government will be sworn in on Friday.

Currently, the Five Star Movement has 216 deputies and 106 senators in the Italian Parliament, while the PD has 112 deputies and 53 senators. The new coalition would have a comfortable majority in the parliament, which is comprised of a 630-seat Chamber of Deputies and a 315-seat Senate.

Earlier, encouraged by the impressive performance of his far-right party in the European Parliament elections in May, Salvini decided to break the ruling coalition with the Five Star Movement by moving a no-confidence motion, seeking a snap election in expectation of the prime ministership. Salvini has managed to fortify his political base by spearheading a racist, anti-immigrant and hyper-nationalistic campaign which has polarized the country.