An Italian government summit on
Wednesday agreed that Premier Giuseppe Conte must press on with
a bid to boost his majority after gaining only a relative and
not absolute one in a Senate confidence vote on Tuesday night.
Conte got 156 votes, five shy of the 161 he needs to hold an
absolute majority in the upper house, where his majority was
stripped by the defection of ex-premier Matteo Renzi's Italia
Viva (IV) party.
Ruling party leaders agreed at Wednesday's summit in a
video-conference with Conte that they must pursue the process of
reinforcing the majority, as well as drafting a new pact on the
agenda to implement for the remainder of the parliamentary term
which ends in 2023.
They reportedly did not set a time limit on completing the
process of shoring up the Senate majority.
Democratic Party (PD) leader Nicola Zingaretti said Wednesday
that a "leap into darkness" had been averted when the government
survived the crunch confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday.
Conte's executive won the confidence vote in the Senate after IV
triggered a crisis by pulling its support.
But, unlike in Monday's vote in the Lower House, the government
came up short of an absolute majority, meaning uncertainty about
its future remains.
"Now we must work on two fronts - the problems of the Italian
people and the government's political direction," Zingaretti
told his party's Radio Immagine, adding that he had spoken to
Conte after Tuesday's vote.
"There is absolute awareness about the need to work on these two
fronts.
"Now is the time to turn a new leaf, to reinforce the
government's parliamentary strength". Conte held the video
meeting with representatives of the parties supporting his
government on Wednesday - the PD, the 5-Star Movement (M5S) and
the left-wing LeU group.
He also is set to visit President Sergio Mattarella to discuss
the situation. The centre-right opposition has said it is ready
to ask Mattarella for snap elections to be held, arguing the
government no longer has a working majority in the Upper House.
The government won Tuesday's vote with the help of several life
Senators and two lawmakers elected with Silvio Berlusconi's
Forza Italia (FI) party who broke ranks.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA