Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on
Monday opened a cabinet meeting on the '2023 agenda', the
program he hopes will see the government through to the end of
the parliamentary term, one day after denying that he was
looking for a new majority amid tension in the ruling coalition.
The meeting on Monday will focus on university, research,
school and digital innovation and will involve all cabinet
members including ex-premier Matteo Renzi's Italia Viva (IV),
the party at the center of a row with the premier over changes
to the statute of limitations.
The premier's office on Sunday denied that Conte was "looking
for other majorities than the one currently supporting the
government".
President Sergio Mattarella, who met with Conte on Saturday
amid the row on the justice reform, expressed through his office
"surprise" over newspaper reports alleging that the talks
focused on a potential new majority coalition to replace IV.
Renzi for his part said "these are days full of useless
controversies" and cited Chinese philosopher Confucius saying
"patience is power".
"We need patience to bear with fake news".
Renzi's IV party has threatened to table a no confidence
motion in Justice Minister Alfonso Bonafede over a controversial
reform of Italy's criminal trial legislation.
The proposed measure approved by the cabinet includes the
so-called "lodo Conte bis", a compromise solution to the wrangle
about the statute of limitations reform.
Renzi on Friday reiterated that the lodo Conte was
unconstitutional and said "we won't give up trying to change"
Bonafede's reform.
"If Conte wants to, he can banish us, we're allies and not
subjects".
Renzi on Thursday had issued his latest ultimatum to
Bonafede, prompting a sharp response from Premier Giuseppe
Conte.
"Italia Viva needs to tell us what it wants to do, it needs
to clarify not just to me but to the country", the prime
minister said.
Unlike the other parties supporting the government, IV
opposed the "lodo Conte bis", a compromise on the issue proposed
Conte after it staunchly opposed Bonafede's reform that puts the
statute of limitations on ice after a first-instance court
ruling.
The aim is to stop offenders getting off thanks to their
lawyers' ability to draw out proceedings until the statute of
limitations kicks in.
Renzi argues there is a risk of people getting embroiled in
never-ending trials and the slow pace of Italy's justice system
getting worse.
The reform has also come under fire from judges and criminal
lawyers, as well as opposition parties.
Conte's compromise would see the statute of limitations put
on ice when a first-instance conviction is upheld at the appeals
level.
In Italy's three-tier justice system, convictions are not
considered definitive until the appeals process has been
exhausted.
IV voted with the opposition on the motion, as it has done in
previous votes on the statute of limitations reform.
The motion was defeated.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA