The government is not at risk and
5-Star Movement (M5S) leader and former premier Giuseppe Conte
has "confirmed" the M5S will not be exiting the government for
an external support over a row over a rumoured ouster request by
his successor, Premier Mario Drag hi said Thursday.
"I'm optimistic, the government is not at risk and it will not
go on without the M5S, said Draghi, ruling out a reshuffle and
saying that the success of the government's action was also due
to the "generosity" of the broad national-unity majority backing
it.
Draghi denied, again, reports that he had asked M5S founder
Beppe Grillo to oust Conte.
"I never made the statements attributed to me about the M5S", he
said.
Draghi reportedly confirmed to President Sergio Mattarella his
commitment to moving forward with the government in talks at the
presidential palace Thursday, while ex-premier Conte reportedly
told Mattarella Wednesday that his M5S would not exit the
government to give only an external backing for it, sources said
Thursday.
Conte complained that he had heard that Draghi allegedly asked
M5S founder and stand-up comic Grillo to oust the former premier
from the movement, which Draghi denied saying he would clear the
matter up with his predecessor as PM.
Many M5S members reportedly exerted increasing pressure on Conte
Thursday to pull out of the national unity coalition and instead
lend external support.
Draghi met President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday officially to
report to the head of state on the situation regarding Italy's
international commitments, sources said, but the alleged Conte
case loomed large in the background.
This week Draghi took part in G7 and NATO summits.
The meeting between the PM and the president took place at a
delicate time for Draghi's executive.
Draghi returned to Rome from the NATO summit in Madrid early on
Wednesday amid soaring tension with his predecessor Conte, the
leader of the 5-Star Movement (M5S), a key part of the ruling
coalition.
Conte reacted with fury at reports that Draghi had contacted M5S
founder Beppe Grillo to have him removed from the helm of the
movement.
The premier's office denied that Draghi had sought to have Conte
ousted and said the reason for his early return from Madrid was
in order to prepare for a cabinet meeting on Thursday with more
measures to curtail sharp rises in energy bills.
Conte had talks on Wednesday with Mattarella about the issue.
Friction with the ruling coalition was already high after
Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio recently quit the M5S to form his
own group after a big row with Conte over military aid for
Ukraine following the Russian invasion.
Di Maio said Conte's calls for the government to stop sending
weapons to Kyiv risking putting Italy out of synch with respect
to its EU and NATO allies.
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