Italy’s Conte insists he’ll serve out full term

Bloomberg

Italy’s Giuseppe Conte is insisting that he’ll serve out his full term as premier as tensions within his ruling coalition build up amid a struggle to restart the crippled economy.
The current government is certain to reach the end of its term in 2023, Conte told newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano in
an interview published on Wednesday. “The forces of the majority are all aware of the great responsibility we carry.”
Conte, who heads a coalition of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, the center-left Democratic Party and smaller parties, has come under political attack as he’s begun
gradually lifting Italy’s stringent nationwide lockdown imposed to halt the spread of the
coronavirus.
Infighting within the administration is delaying a 55 billion-euro ($60 billion) stimulus package, with allies including Five Star and the Democrats at odds over measures including boosting liquidity for businesses and an emergency income for people trapped in the underground economy.
Regional and business leaders have joined in the criticism, calling on the prime minister to speed up easing containment measures. While the manufacturing and construction sectors were allowed to restart, many other businesses remain shut.
Italy’s economy will shrink by 9.5% this year, the European Commission said on Wednesday, forecasting an unemployment rate at 11.8%. The Rome government estimates output falling 8% this year, while Bloomberg Economics sees a 13% contraction.
The tensions have triggered media speculation about the coalition’s stability, with many suggesting the possibility of a so-called government of national unity led by a well-known figure like ex-European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi.
But differences between the parties, and their mutual distrust, make this a difficult prospect. Conte told Il Fatto that Draghi “has never demonstrated to me an interest in the premiership and I don’t believe, knowing him, that he would let himself be urged by the various initiatives underway.”
Conte, who is seeking European Union assistance including joint debt issuance, told Il Fatto that Italy, Spain and France
are ranged against the more “frugal” position of northern countries.
“We will continue to fight so that the more ambitious hypothesis prevails,” Conte said.