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| Draghi, Italy's sixth prime minister in a decade, had drawn warm applause from lawmakers when he made a brief appearance in the lower house of parliament on Thursday, signalling his intention to step down. Mario Draghi has been asked to stay on in a caretaker capacity. (Photo from rte) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] ROME: Italy will hold a snap national election on Sep 25 after Prime Minister Mario Draghi resigned following the collapse of his national unity government, sending tremors through financial markets. It will be the first autumn national election for more than a century in Italy, where the second half of the year is normally taken up with getting the budget law through parliament, Reuters reported.
It is likely to be a fractious campaign fought in the fierce summer heat in a drought-hit country. A bloc of conservative parties, led by the far-right Brothers of Italy, looks likely to win a clear majority at the ballot, a study of opinion polls showed this week. Draghi, an unelected former central banker who has led a broad coalition for almost 18 months, handed in his resignation earlier on Thursday (Jul 21) and was asked by President Sergio Mattarella to stay on in a caretaker capacity.
He said that the government must also implement the National Recovery and Resilience Plan that sees Italy tapping billions of euros of post-pandemic European Union funds in return for reforms. Although the vote is set for the end of September, it might take weeks of haggling before a new administration is sworn in.
