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ROME (Reuters) -Italy’s two houses of parliament gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to approve a contested reform of the euro zone’s bailout fund, known as the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), at an EU summit on Dec. 10-11.
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Last week some 60 rebels from the co-ruling 5-Star Movement, which has always opposed the reform, threatened to vote against the government, leaving it potentially vulnerable to defeat.
However, coalition negotiations produced a resolution which most 5-Star lawmakers agreed to, authorising Conte to approve the ESM changes while pursuing other reforms of EU financial management aimed at overturning austerity.
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New Europe spoke with Nicola Fratoianni, a member of parliament from
Sinistra Italiana, about the current political crisis. His party has confirmed their support for Conte after his government lost its absolute majority in the Senate.
New Europe (NE):
What do you expect in terms of a positive outcome for this political crisis?
Nicola Fratoianni (NF): It is possible to rule now only with parliamentarians sharing and supporting the program of this government. During this year the government was supported by a majority which underwent some modifications. In this regard, we had in the parliament the birth of the
Italia Viva political group, which was created after a split from the Democratic Party. I expect, at this very moment, clarity and wisdom. I think it was right to go into the parliament to present a proposal and see if there was a majority. There was a crystal clear majority in the Chamber, while in the Senate the majority was insufficient. In the next days, I expect that
Weakened Italian government clings to power
Though substantially weakened, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will remain in power, and there will be no early elections. These were the results of the vote of confidence in the Italian parliament, which Conte won in both chambers.
In the House of Representatives, where the majority is clearer due to electoral law than in the Senate, a majority of 321 of the 630 deputies voted for Conte on Monday. By contrast, after a 12-hour debate Tuesday, only a minority of 156 out of the 321 senators backed him.
Matteo Renzi (Source: the European Parliament)
Conte’s survival was thanks to the very party that initially triggered the crisis by leaving the government. Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi along with 13 other representatives of his party Italia Viva abstained in the vote. Had they voted no, the government would have fallen on Tuesday. One-hundred and forty senators from the opposition parties voted against Conte. He will now head