Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi announces his resignation

ROME: Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has announced that he is resigning from his post. As his press service reported on Thursday, Draghi said at a meeting of the Council of Ministers that he would pass the corresponding statement to the head of state, President Sergio Mattarella.

"I want to announce that tonight I will hand over my resignation to the president of the republic," the government's press service quoted him as saying. In his address to the members of the Cabinet of Ministers, he noted that "there is no longer that part of national unity that has supported this government since its inception." According to him, he sees no more conditions for the work of his cabinet.

The reason for the resignation was the refusal of the 5 Star Movement - one of the parties of the ruling coalition, which until recently formed its basis - to take part in the vote on confidence in the government in the upper house of the Italian parliament (the Senate), which they formally marked their withdrawal from the parliamentary majority .

Draghi has previously stated that he does not see his government without the participation of the 5 Star Movement, while noting that it makes no sense to keep the coalition on the basis of ultimatums.

The current government is the result of the formation of a broad coalition after another government crisis and the fall of the cabinet of Giuseppe Conte, who now heads the 5 Star Movement. Ministerial portfolios were distributed among representatives of all parties that supported the cabinet headed by Draghi. At the same time, since 2018, the Movement, which won 33% of the vote in the parliamentary elections, has been the backbone of the coalition.