Second Conte government

66th Cabinet of Italy
Date formed5 September 2019 (2019-09-05)
Date dissolved13 February 2021 (2021-02-13) (528 days)
People and organisations
Head of stateSergio Mattarella
Head of governmentGiuseppe Conte
No. of ministers21 (incl. Prime Minister)
Ministers removed3 resigned
Total no. of members24
Member partiesM5S, PD, LeU (Art.1–SI),
IV (18 September 2019–14 January 2021)
Status in legislatureCoalition government
Opposition partiesLega, FI, FdI,
IV (since 14 January 2021)
History
Election(s)2018 election
Legislature term(s)XVIII Legislature (2018–2022)
Incoming formation2019 government formation
PredecessorFirst Conte government
SuccessorDraghi government

The second Conte government was the 66th government of the Italian Republic and the second government led by Giuseppe Conte.[1][2][3] The government was sworn in on 5 September 2019[4] to 13 February 2021.

The government was supported by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), along with the leftist parliamentary group Free and Equal (LeU). On 17 September 2019 the centrist party Italia Viva (IV), which splintered from the PD on that day, announced its support for the coalition, as well.

The government has been referred to as the "yellow-red government" (governo giallorosso), based on the customary colours of the main supporting parties.[5][6][7]

The second Conte government had the lowest average age of its members in the history of the Italian Republic.[8]

On 13 January 2021, after weeks of disagreements within the government coalition, the two ministers of IV resigned from their posts. Having lost the full support of one of the parties forming the government, Prime Minister Conte resigned on 26 January 2021.[9][10][11]

Supporting parties

Beginning of term

At the time of the government formation, its ministers and other members were part of the following three parties.

Party Main ideology Leader
Five Star Movement (M5S) Populism Luigi Di Maio
Democratic Party (PD) Social democracy Nicola Zingaretti
Free and Equal (LeU)[lower-alpha 1] Democratic socialism Several leaders
  1. ↑ Political alliance between Article One (led by Roberto Speranza) and Italian Left (led by Claudio Grassi).

The government also obtained the support of the Associative Movement Italians Abroad (MAIE), and one of its senators, Ricardo Merlo, was appointed as undersecretary in the government.[12] The government received also the external support of the following minor parties: Popular Civic List (CP), the Italian Socialist Party (PSI), Italia in Comune (IiC), the South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP) and the Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Party (PATT).[13][14]

2019–2021

From 18 September 2019 to 13 January 2021, the government ministers and other members were from the following four parties.

Party Main ideology Leader
Five Star Movement (M5S) Populism Vito Crimi (acting)
Democratic Party (PD) Social democracy Nicola Zingaretti
Italia Viva (IV) Liberalism Matteo Renzi
Free and Equal (LeU)[lower-alpha 1] Democratic socialism Several leaders
  1. ↑ Political alliance between Article One (led by Roberto Speranza) and Italian Left (led by Nicola Fratoianni).

On 17 September 2020 former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi led a breakaway group outside the PD and formed Italia Viva, which confirmed its support to the government.[15]

End of term

At the time of its resignation, the government ministers and other members were from the following three parties.

Party Main ideology Leader
Five Star Movement (M5S) Populism Vito Crimi (acting)
Democratic Party (PD) Social democracy Nicola Zingaretti
Free and Equal (LeU)[lower-alpha 1] Democratic socialism Several leaders
  1. ↑ Political alliance between Article One (led by Roberto Speranza) and Italian Left (led by Nicola Fratoianni).

On 13 January 2021 former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced the withdrawal of his party’s support to the government.[16]

History

Background

Conte with President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in August 2019

After the 2018 general election the Five Star Movement (M5S), which had come first in the election, and the League agreed to form a coalition government led by Giuseppe Conte, the first Conte government.

In August 2019, Matteo Salvini, Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the League, announced a motion of no confidence against the government, after growing tensions within the majority. Salvini's move came right after a vote in the Senate regarding the progress of the Turin–Lyon high-speed railway, in which the League, along with the largest opposition parties, voted against an attempt of the M5S to block the construction works.[17] Many political analysts believe the no confidence motion was an attempt to force early elections to improve his party's standing in Parliament, due to its increasing support in opinion polls, ensuring Salvini could become the next Prime Minister.[18] On 20 August, following the parliamentary debate in which Conte harshly accused Salvini of being a political opportunist who "had triggered the political crisis only to serve his personal interest",[19] the Prime Minister tendered his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella.[20]

Government formation

On 21 August, Mattarella started consultations with parliamentary groups. On the same day, the national board of the Democratic Party (PD) officially and unanimously opened to the prospect of a government with the M5S,[19] based on pro-Europeanism, green economy, sustainable development, fight against economic inequality and a new immigration policy.[21] However, the talks resulted in a unclear outcome, the President announced a second round of consultations starting on 27 August.[22]

Negotiations between PD and M5S started,[23] while Free and Equal (LeU), a left-wing parliamentary group, announced its support too.[24] On 28 August, PD's leader Nicola Zingaretti announced at the Quirinal Palace his favourable position on forming a new government with the Five Stars with Conte at its head.[25] On same day, Mattarella summoned Conte to the Quirinal Palace for 29 August to give him the task of forming a new government.[26] On 3 September, M5S members voted through the so-called "Rousseau Platform" in favor of an agreement with the PD, with Conte Prime Minister, with more than 79% of the vote out of nearly 80,000 voters.[27]

The government at the Quirinal Palace for the oath

On 4 September Conte announced the ministers of this new government, which was sworn in on the following day.[28] At its start, the government was composed of 21 ministers, 14 men and 7 women, a majority of whom were from Southern Italy.[29][30]

Investiture votes

On 9 September 2019 the Chamber of Deputies approved the government with 343 votes in favour, 263 against and 3 abstentions.[31][32] On the following day the Senate followed suit, with 169 in favour, 133 against and 5 abstentions.[33][34]

9–10 September 2019
Investiture votes for Conte II Cabinet
House of Parliament Vote Parties Votes
Chamber of Deputies
(Present: 609[lower-alpha 1] of 630,
Majority: 304)		 check YesM5S (208), PD (109), LeU (14), CP–AP–PSI–AC (4), +Eu–CD (3), Others (5)
343 / 609
☒ NoLega (121), FI (95), FdI (33), NcI–USEI (4), Others (10)
263 / 609
AbstentionSVP–PATT (3)
3 / 609
Senate of the Republic
(Present: 307[lower-alpha 2] of 321,
Majority: 152)		 check YesM5S (104), PD (49), Aut (4), LeU (4), Others (8)
169 / 307
☒ NoLega (57), FI (56), FdI (18), +Eu (1), Others (1)
133 / 307
AbstentionAut (3), M5S (1), PD (1)
5 / 307
  1. ↑ Absent (16): FI (4), Lega (3), M5S (3), PD (2), FdI (1), Others (3)
    On institutional leave (4): M5S (4)
  2. ↑ Absent (8): FI (5), M5S (1), Others (2)
    On institutional leave (5): M5S (1), PD (1), Lega (1), Aut (1), Others (1)
    President (1)

Italia Viva and M5S crises

In September 2019 former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi lead a split from the PD, and formed a party called Italia Viva. The new party had two ministers (Teresa Bellanova and Elena Bonetti) and one undersecretary, and kept its support for the Conte II government.[35]

In December 2019 the Minister of Education and Research, Lorenzo Fioramonti, resigned after disagreements with the rest of the cabinet regarding the recently approved 2020 budget bill. Fioramonti considered the share of funds dedicated to education and research to be insufficient.[36] For the designation of the new Minister, Prime Minister Conte decided to split the Ministry of Education, University and Research into two. The Ministry of Public Education went to the former undersecretary Lucia Azzolina (M5S), whereas the Ministry of University and Research went to the dean of the University of Naples Federico II, Gaetano Manfredi (Ind).[37]

In January 2020, the Five Star Movement suffered multiple parliamentary defections and a sizeable decrease in popularity with respect to the 2018 elections.[38] Luigi Di Maio resigned from his position as M5S political leader, retaining his position as foreign minister.[39]

Coronavirus outbreak

In February 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to northern Italian regions. In a few weeks, it spread to the rest of the country, with major concentration of cases in the regions of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont and Veneto. The government faced the subsequent health crisis by imposing gradually stricter measures of social distancing and quarantine, until a nationwide lockdown was imposed on 9 March, restricting the movement of people except for reasons of necessity, health, or work.[40][41]

January 2021 political crisis

On 13 January 2021, after weeks of disagreements between IV and the rest of the government regarding the handling of the Next Generation EU funds, all three cabinet members of IV (Minister of Agriculture Teresa Bellanova, Minister of Family Elena Bonetti and Undersecretary for Economy Ivan Scalfarotto) resigned from their posts.

Having lost the full support of one of the parties forming the government, Prime Minister Conte narrowly won a confidence vote at the Senate with a 156–140 tally, including 16 abstention votes from the IV senators, falling short of the absolute majority of 161 votes.[42]

Due to that, and unable to find enough votes in Parliament to move ahead with the current government, on 26 January 2021 Conte tended his resignations to President Sergio Mattarella, who asked him to stay in office to handle current affairs (as is customary in Italian politics).[9][10][11]

Party breakdown

Beginning of term

Ministers

9
9
1
3

Ministers and other members

2019–2021

Ministers

9
7
2
1
4

Ministers and other members

End of term

Ministers

9
7
1
4

Ministers and other members

Geographical breakdown

Beginning of term

A choropleth map showing the number of ministers from each region.

2019–2021

End of term

Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers was composed of the following members:[43][1][2]

Office Name Party Term
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte Independent[lower-alpha 1] 2019–2021
Minister of Foreign Affairs Luigi Di Maio Five Star Movement 2019–2021
Minister of the Interior Luciana Lamorgese Independent 2019–2021
Minister of Justice Alfonso Bonafede Five Star Movement 2019–2021
Minister of Defence Lorenzo Guerini Democratic Party 2019–2021
Minister of Economy and Finance Roberto Gualtieri Democratic Party 2019–2021
Minister of Economic Development Stefano Patuanelli Five Star Movement 2019–2021
Minister of Agriculture Teresa Bellanova Democratic Party / Italia Viva 2019–2021
Minister of the Environment Sergio Costa Independent[lower-alpha 1] 2019–2021
Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Paola De Micheli Democratic Party 2019–2021
Minister of Labour and Social Policies Nunzia Catalfo Five Star Movement 2019–2021
Minister of Education, University and Research Lorenzo Fioramonti Five Star Movement 2019
Lucia Azzolina (Public Education) Five Star Movement 2020–2021
Gaetano Manfredi (University and Research) Independent 2020–2021
Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities Dario Franceschini Democratic Party 2019–2021
Minister of Health Roberto Speranza Free and Equal (Art.1) 2019–2021
Minister for Parliamentary Relations Federico D'Incà Five Star Movement 2019–2021
Minister of Public Administration Fabiana Dadone Five Star Movement 2019–2021
Minister of Regional Affairs Francesco Boccia Democratic Party 2019–2021
Minister for the South Giuseppe Provenzano Democratic Party 2019–2021
Minister for Family and Equal Opportunities Elena Bonetti Democratic Party / Italia Viva 2019–2021
Minister of European Affairs Vincenzo Amendola Democratic Party 2019–2021
Minister for Sport and Youth Policies Vincenzo Spadafora Five Star Movement 2019–2021
Minister for Technological Innovation Paola Pisano Five Star Movement 2019–2021
Secretary of the Council of Ministers Riccardo Fraccaro Five Star Movement 2019–2021
  1. 1 2 Proposed by the Five Star Movement.

Composition

Office Portrait Name Term of office Party
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Independent
Undersecretaries
Minister of Foreign Affairs Luigi Di Maio 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Five Star Movement
Deputy Ministers
Undersecretaries
Minister of the Interior Luciana Lamorgese 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Independent
Deputy Ministers
Undersecretaries
Minister of Justice Alfonso Bonafede 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Five Star Movement
Undersecretaries
  • Vittorio Ferraresi (M5S)
  • Andrea Giorgis (PD)
Minister of Defence Lorenzo Guerini 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Democratic Party
Undersecretaries
  • Angelo Tofalo (M5S)
  • Giulio Calvisi (PD)
Minister of Economy and Finance Roberto Gualtieri 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Democratic Party
Deputy Ministers
Undersecretaries
Minister of Economic Development Stefano Patuanelli 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Five Star Movement
Deputy Minister
  • Stefano Buffagni (M5S)
Undersecretaries
  • Alessandra Todde (M5S)
  • Mirella Liuzzi (M5S)
  • Gian Paolo Manzella (PD)
  • Alessia Morani (PD)
Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies Teresa Bellanova 5 September 2019 – 14 January 2021[lower-alpha 2]
Italia Viva
Before 18 September 2019:
Democratic Party
Giuseppe Conte
(Acting)		 14 January 2021 – 13 February 2021 Independent
Undersecretaries
Minister of the Environment Sergio Costa 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Independent
Undersecretaries
Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Paola De Micheli 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Democratic Party
Deputy Minister
  • Giancarlo Cancelleri (M5S)
Undersecretaries
Minister of Labour and Social Policies Nunzia Catalfo 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Five Star Movement
Undersecretaries
  • Stanislao Di Piazza (M5S)
  • Francesca Puglisi (PD)
Minister of Education, University and Research[lower-alpha 3] Lorenzo Fioramonti 5 September 2019 – 30 December 2019[lower-alpha 4] Five Star Movement
Giuseppe Conte
(Acting)		 30 December 2019 – 10 January 2020 Independent
Deputy Minister
Undersecretaries
Minister of Public Education[lower-alpha 3] Lucia Azzolina 10 January 2020 – 13 February 2021 Five Star Movement
Deputy Minister
Undersecretary
  • Giuseppe De Cristofaro (LeU/SI)
Minister of University and Research[lower-alpha 3] Gaetano Manfredi 10 January 2020 – 13 February 2021 Independent
Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism Dario Franceschini 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Democratic Party
Undersecretaries
Minister of Health Roberto Speranza 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Free and Equal
(Art.1)
Deputy Minister
Undersecretaries
Minister for Parliamentary Relations
(without portfolio)		 Federico D'Incà 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Five Star Movement
Undersecretaries
Minister of Public Administration
(without portfolio)		 Fabiana Dadone 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Five Star Movement
Minister of Regional Affairs and Autonomies
(without portfolio)		 Francesco Boccia 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Democratic Party
Minister for the South
(without portfolio)		 Giuseppe Provenzano 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Democratic Party
Minister for Family and Equal Opportunities
(without portfolio)		 Elena Bonetti 5 September 2019 – 14 January 2021[lower-alpha 5] Italia Viva
Before 18 September 2019:
Democratic Party
Giuseppe Conte
(Acting)		 14 January 2021 – 13 February 2021 Independent
Minister of European Affairs
(without portfolio)		 Vincenzo Amendola 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Democratic Party
Undersecretaries
Minister for Sport and Youth Policies
(without portfolio)		 Vincenzo Spadafora 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Five Star Movement
Minister for Technological Innovation
(without portfolio)		 Paola Pisano 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Five Star Movement
Secretary of the Council of Ministers Riccardo Fraccaro 5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021 Five Star Movement
  1. ↑ Scalfarotto resigned during a press conference in which Matteo Renzi, leader of Italia Viva, withdrew his support to the government.
  2. ↑ Bellanova resigned during a press conference in which Matteo Renzi, leader of Italia Viva, withdrew his support to the government.
  3. 1 2 3 On 28 December 2019, after the resignation of former Minister of Education, University and Research, Lorenzo Fioramonti, the prime minister split the Ministry into a Ministry of Public Education and a Ministry of University and Research.
  4. ↑ Fioramonti resigned after disagreements on the 2020 financial budget bill. According to Fioramonti, the approved bill allocated insufficient funds for education and research.
  5. ↑ Bonetti resigned during a press conference in which Matteo Renzi, leader of Italia Viva, withdrew his support to the government.

References

  1. 1 2 "Here is Italy's new cabinet in full". www.thelocal.it. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  2. 1 2 Barigazzi, Jacopo (4 September 2019). "Italy's Conte presents Cabinet list, with MEP Gualtieri as finance minister". POLITICO. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  3. ↑ "Governo Conte bis: ecco la lista completa dei ministri". Repubblica.it. 4 September 2019.
  4. ↑ "Conte Bis, lunedì alle 11 dibattito fiducia alla Camera". Adnkronos (in Italian). Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  5. ↑ Johnson, Miles (4 September 2019). "Giuseppe Conte seeks go-ahead to form Italy coalition government". Financial Times. Rome. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  6. ↑ "Governo giallo-rosso e l'interesse nazionale". L'HuffPost. 31 August 2019.
  7. ↑ "Italy plunged into political crisis as ex-PM Matteo Renzi withdraws support from government". Telegraph.
  8. ↑ "Governo Conte 2, è un esecutivo di 40enni: il più giovane della storia repubblicana. Per Di Maio record alla Farnesina". Il Fatto Quotidiano. 4 September 2019.
  9. 1 2 Johnson, Miles (26 January 2021). "Italy's PM Conte resigns as government crisis intensifies". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  10. 1 2 "Italy's PM Conte to resign on Tuesday, hopes to form new government". Italy's PM Conte to resign on Tuesday, hopes to form new government. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Crisi di governo, Conte mezz'ora al Colle per le dimissioni e spera nel 'ter'. La regia passa a Mattarella. Nasce gruppo Responsabili al Senato". La Repubblica. Rome. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  12. ↑ Riccardo Merlo (MAIE) confermato sottosegretario agli steri
  13. ↑ La Camera vota la fiducia con 343 sì, il premier replica alla Camera fra le proteste. Alzata anche una sedia
  14. ↑ Governo, il Conte bis incassa la fiducia alla Camera. Il discorso del premier
  15. ↑ Amante, Angelo; Ciociola, Andrea (17 September 2019). "Former Italy PM Renzi leads breakaway from PD, still backs government". Reuters. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  16. ↑ Squires, Nick (13 January 2021). "Italy plunged into political crisis as ex-PM Matteo Renzi withdraws support from government". Reuters. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  17. ↑ "Voto Tav, Senato respinge la mozione M5S e approva quella del Pd con il sostegno della Lega. Governo diviso". 8 July 2019.
  18. ↑ Squires, Nick (9 August 2019). "Italy's League files no confidence motion in prime minister in bid to trigger election". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  19. 1 2 Giuffrida, Angela (20 August 2019). "Italian PM resigns with attack on 'opportunist' Salvini". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  20. ↑ Horowitz, Jason (20 August 2019). "Italy's Government Collapses, Turning Chaos Into Crisis". The New York Times.
  21. ↑ "Governo, Zingaretti: "I 5 punti per trattare con il M5S. No accordicchi, governo di svolta"". Repubblica.it. 21 August 2019.
  22. ↑ "Crisi di governo, secondo giro di consultazioni al Colle". Tgcom24.
  23. ↑ "Ecco l'accordo sul Conte bis: Zingaretti dà il via libera, nodo su ministeri e manovra". Fanpage.
  24. ↑ "Grasso, possibile intesa M5s-Pd-Leu - Ultima Ora". Agenzia ANSA. 19 August 2019.
  25. ↑ "Italy's Conte might be back at helm with Salvini shut out". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 28 August 2019.
  26. ↑ "C'è l'accordo tra M5s e Pd. Governo giallorosso ai nastri di partenza". Agi.
  27. ↑ "Governo, via libera di Rousseau all'intesa M5s-Pd con il 79% dei voti. Conte domattina al Quirinale". Repubblica.it. 3 September 2019.
  28. ↑ "Governo, Conte e i ministri hanno giurato. Gentiloni in pole per successione a Moscovici". Repubblica.it. 5 September 2019.
  29. ↑ "Governo, i 21 ministri del Conte bis Sette donne, Lamorgese all'Interno". www.ilgazzettino.it. 4 September 2019.
  30. ↑ "Governo, 11 ministri dal Sud: 4 sono campani". Repubblica.it. 4 September 2019.
  31. ↑ D'Emilio, Frances (9 September 2019). "Italy's Conte wins first confidence vote in Parliament". AP NEWS. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  32. ↑ "Resoconto stenografico dell'Assemblea Seduta n. 222 di lunedì 9 settembre 2019". camera.it (in Italian). Camera dei Deputati. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  33. ↑ Zampano, Giada (10 September 2019). "Italy's new pro-EU govt wins vote, now faces 2020 budget". AP NEWS. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  34. ↑ "Legislatura 18ª - Aula - Resoconto stenografico della seduta n. 148 del 10/09/2019". senato.it (in Italian). 10 September 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  35. ↑ Amante, Angelo; Ciociola, Andrea (17 September 2019). "Former Italy PM Renzi leads breakaway from PD, still backs government". Reuters. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  36. ↑ Jones, Gavin (25 December 2019). "Italy education minister resigns over lack of funds for ministry". Reuters. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  37. ↑ "Conte:: "Separare la Scuola dall'Università. Azzolina ministro dell'Istruzione e Manfredi della Ricerca"". Repubblica.it (in Italian). 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  38. ↑ Horowitz, Jason (18 January 2020). "As Five Star Party Risks Implosion, Italy Fears the Fallout". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  39. ↑ Giuffrida, Angela (22 January 2020). "Luigi Di Maio resigns as leader of Italy's Five Star Movement". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  40. ↑ Sciorilli Borrelli, Silvia (9 March 2020). "Italy orders total lockdown over coronavirus". POLITICO. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  41. ↑ Di Donato, Valentina; Reynolds, Emma; Picheta, Rob (13 March 2020). "All of Italy is in lockdown as coronavirus cases rise". CNN. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  42. ↑ "Italy's Conte wins Senate vote to keep fragile government afloat: final tally". Reuters.com]. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  43. ↑ "Governo Conte II". www.governo.it (in Italian). 4 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
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