ANSA: Draghi meets president to quit
Baku, July 21, AZERTAC
Premier Mario Draghi announced in the Lower House on Thursday that he was reporting to President Sergio Mattarella to "communicate my resolution" to resign after his ruling coalition collapsed, according to ANSA.
The Italian parliament is set to be dissolved for early elections after three of the big parties in Draghi's coalition, Matteo Salvini's right-wing League, ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI) and the 5-Star Movement (M5S), failed to take part in a confidence vote in the Senate on a resolution backing him on Wednesday.
The former president of the European Central Bank thanked the lawmakers, most of whom had supported his government of national unity over the last year and a half.
He appeared relaxed and cheerful, after tense moments on Wednesday during his reply to criticism of his call for the parties to renew the "pact of trust" that his government was based on, when he denied having asked to be given "full powers".
"Sometimes even the hearts of central bankers get used," he quipped, referring to a recent joke he made about a transplant recipient preferring the heart of a central banker to that of another donor because it had 'never been used'.
"Thank you for all the work done in this period".
Draghi is basically confirming the resignation he presented last week when the M5S snubbed a confidence vote on a decree, sparking a crisis of government even though the executive comfortably won the vote.
Mattarella initially reused to accept the resignation, telling Draghi to report to parliament, which he did on Wednesday.
Other news in this section
