President Sergio Mattarella started
a round of formal political consultations on Wednesday after
this month's inconclusive general election.
The talks will help the Head of State make a decision on to
whom to give a mandate to try to form a new government.
The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) says it should
lead the next government as it is the biggest single group in
the new parliament after winning around 32% of the vote.
But the anti-migrant, Euroskeptic League says it should be
top dog as the lead party of the centre right, the biggest
coalition with around 37% of the vote.
M5S leader Luigi Di Maio on Tuesday opened up either to the
rightwing populist League or the centre-left Democratic Party
(PD), which is reeling after its poor showing in the election,
for a possible government, but shut the door on any alliance
with ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI).
The M5S reportedly argues Berlusconi would block all attempts
to reform the system and is against him because of a tax-dodge
conviction for which he was ejected from office in 2013 and
charges of witness tampering over alleged orgies at his home.
Di Maio explained the position on Italian TV Tuesday evening,
telling the Di Martedì show that he wanted to launch a
"government contract" either with the League or the PD.
The PD, which got a drubbing in the general election, has
ruled out any alliance, saying it will stay in opposition.
The League has said Di Maio must give up his premiership
ambitions for any deal to be made.
League leader Matteo Salvini says FI and Berlusconi must come
along with him as part of any package.
The presidential consultations kicked off with new Senate
Speaker Elisabetta Casellati, followed Lower House Speaker
Roberto Fico and Mattarella's predecessor as president, Giorgio
Napolitano.
Then there were talks with political representatives of
autonomous regions, the 'mixed group' that features members of
the leftwing Free and Equal (LeU) group, and with the rightwing
Brothers of Italy (FdI) party.
The consultations will continue on Thursday with talks with
the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), Forza Italia, the League
and the M5S.
Di Maio said Wednesday he hoped to meet soon with the League
and the PD to discuss a possible government alliance with one or
the other.
"Let's hope we can meet as soon as possible the two parties
to understand what their proposals are, and to understand with
whom we can start to write this (government) contract," he said
in a Facebook post.
"Then we must put it into practice. We want to get to work
immediately to get the Third Republic started which must and
will be the Republic of citizens".
Apparently paradoxically, however, Di Maio said he no longer
wanted to forge government alliances in any "shady deal" but
instead wanted other parties to support an M5S "contract" on the
issues.
"The solution is not to form alliances, shady deals, accords
among political forces. We've seen so many of them in these
decades and we know where they have brought us: you get together
only to stay alive and divvy up seats, not caring about the
citizens."
Di Maio said "we want to completely change method, proposing
a different, concrete approach. We want to focus on the issues,
that is the solutions to solve the country's problems".
The M5S leader reiterated his proposal for a "government
contract".
For the PD, former House whip Ettore Rosato replied by saying
Di Maio was addressing the PD "in order to increase his
bargaining power with the League," and Rosato ruled out
government-formation talks between the PD and the M5S.
"Let him emerge from election-campaign mode and enter into a
phase of responsibility for the country, let him say what he
wants," said Rosato.
"We will meet everyone but it seems to me that he doesn't
want to lay the premises for a meeting, if he thinks he can
choose who to meet in the PD he's completely wrong.
"The web they've been weaving for months is an accord between
the League and the M5S, and in the end they'll take on board
Forza Italia too".
Rosato, now one of the four deputy Speakers in the Lower
House, said "let the theatrics end".
Berlusconi, meanwhile, said he rejected the idea of talking
to the M5S, because it has set a veto on the former premier
being part of a possible government alliance between the M5S and
the centre right.
A statement issued after an FI summit said "ex-premier
Berlusconi and Forza Italia after the victory of the
centre-right coalition in the general election reaffirm strongly
the unity of the coalition and the unwillingness to engage in
any kind of dialogue or government hypothesis with those who set
vetoes that are unacceptable in a democracy".
Free and Equal (LeU) party leader Pietro Grasso said after
the consultations with Mattarella that the small leftwing group
was prepared to back the M5S "if it tackles our issues".
"On behalf of all the LeU MPs and Senators I expressed our
willingness, with a sense of responsibility, to open a dialogue
with forces that have in their programmes issues that are
essential for us, such as a national investment plan, workers'
rights, strengthening welfare and the national health system,
the right to study and the environment," Grasso said.
Grasso ruled out any dialogue with the centre right and
stressed that he might talk to the M5S about the issues closest
to its heart.
Finally, far-right nationalist Brothers of Italy leader
Giorgia Meloni said she told Mattarella that it is up to the
centre right to form a government.
The FdI asked Mattarella to hand a government-formation
mandate to League leader Salvini, Meloni said.
Experts say the first round of talks will be inconclusive and
a second round will start next week.
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