Italy in limbo as Draghi wins confidence vote but loses parliamentary majority
France24 says Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi won a confidence motion in the upper house Senate on Wednesday, but three main coalition parties refused to take part in the vote, effectively torpedoing his administration.
The motion asked the house to approve a speech made by Draghi earlier in the day, when he demanded unity from his coalition allies. The vote was approved by 95 to 38 with many dozens of senators absenting themselves.
On the right, Forza Italia and the League parties said they would not take part in the vote. They were joined in their boycott by the populist 5-Star Movement which also said it would shun the vote, having set off Italy’s latest political crisis with a similar boycott last week.
Draghi had tendered his resignation last week, but President Sergio Mattarella turned him down and told him to go before parliament to see if he could revive the 18-month-old administration.