“We’re willing to share a responsibility of governing as we have done up to now, I stress, in a loyal and construction manner, but what’s needed is a strong signal of a break” with current policies, said 5-Star leader Giuseppe Conte.
Draghi met with former Premier Giuseppe Conte, now the leader of the populist 5-Star Movement, for more than an hour. Draghi, whose coalition partners range from the left to the right of the political spectrum in addition to the populists, has said publicly that his government couldn’t continue without the support of the 5-Stars.
Conte is caught between the loyalty to the coalition and pressures from the increasingly restless base of his party. “We spoke with Draghi, we delivered a document in the name of the 5-Stars, we have tallied up a strong political discomfort” over government policy, Conte told reporters.
Conte said that Draghi will “take time to review our requests.” Those include more generous financial relief for families and businesses slammed by high energy costs and guarantees of continued funding of a guaranteed monthly salary to those unable to find work — a pledge which helped the 5-Stars sweep parliamentary seats in the underdeveloped south in 2018.
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