Italy - Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte
Largely unknown law professor Giuseppe Conte was chosen 21 May 2018 by a far-right coalition of the 5-Star Movement (M5S) and League to lead Italy's government. The 54-year-old, who is closely associated with M5S, has never been elected to parliament and is a relative newcomer to Italy's political scene. Conte first entered the spotlight ahead of the March 4 election, when his name was put forward by M5S as a possible Minister of Public Administration in charge of cleaning up Italy's notoriously complex bureaucracy. He had been quoted as saying that he used to vote for the left, but that "the ideologies of the 20th century are no longer adequate (for 21st century politics)."
Giuseppe Conte was born in Volturara Appula (FG) on August 8, 1964. After graduating from classical maturity, he graduated from high school in Law at the University of Rome (1988), with a vote of 110 and praise/110. After graduation he began to carry out scientific research, as a fan of the referring to the chairs of Private Law (before) and Civil Law (after) of Professor Giovanni Battista Ferri, at the Faculty of Law of the University "La Sapienza". He was a fellow at the National Research Council (CNR) in 1992-93 and, between 1992 and 2014, carried out several study stays abroad, conducting legal research at various universities, including: Yale University (New Haven), Université Sorbonne (Paris), New York University (New York), Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (London). In the academic year 1997-1998 he won the competition as a researcher of private law Faculty of Law at the University of Florence. In 2000 he was qualified as an associate professor of private law; two years more later he obtained his suitability as an ordinary professor of private law.
From 2001 until 2018 he was the chair of Private Law I and Private Law II Faculty of Law (now Department of Legal Sciences) of the University of Florence. He has taught at various universities, including: University of Rome Lumsa (Additional courses of Private law); University of Rome Three (Additional Courses of Private Law); University of Sassari (Private Law and Civil Law); "Luiss" University of Rome (Private Law); University "San Pio V" in Rome (Commercial Law). He worked as a lawyer in civil and commercial law, extensive arbitrage experience as well.
In the three years 2012-2015 he was a member of the Banking and Financial Referee (College of Naples) on the designation of the Bank of Italy. In 2013 and until March 2018 he was a member of the Presidential Council of Justice Administrative, on the designation of the Chamber of Deputies. He has been a member of various study committees; He is a member of various associations scientific, Italian and foreign societies; Is a member of the management committee and the scientific committee of various legal, Italian and foreign journals.
For weeks after General Election on 04 March 2018, the League's Matteo Salvini and Luigi Di Maio from the 5-Star Movement (M5S) had been wrestling their way to a coalition deal, with sticking points including, above all, who would get which posts in a potential government. Both men wanted to be prime minister, so now they have privately agreed on another person to serve as a figurehead to oversee the implementation of the policy program. Salvini, notorious for making xenophobic remarks, would head up the Interior Ministry, meaning he would be responsible for immigration and asylum policy.
Giuseppe Conte, a little-known law professor with no political experience, was picked by the League and 5-Star Movement (M5S) as their candidate for prime minister. He was forced to temporarily give up his leadership bid after the parties' cabinet selection was initially blocked. However, after the two parties struck a deal with President Sergio Mattarella, Conte was eventually sworn in on 01 June 2018. After months of negotiations, Italy finally had a government with Giuseppe Conte at the helm. Conte's swearing in ended weeks of turmoil that rocked financial markets, but concerns among Italy's EU partners remain.
On 28 August 2019 Italy's populist 5-Star Movement (M5S) and the center-left Democratic Party (PD) put aside their traditional differences to form a new government and prevent new elections. 5-Star (M5S) said the coalition would be led by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who had resigned following the collapse of the coalition government between M5S and the far-right League earlier this month. "Today we told the president of the republic that there is a political agreement with the Democratic Party that Giuseppe Conte may be again given a mandate as prime minister," M5S leader Luigi Di Maio said. Had the PD and M5S been unable to form a solid majority, the president would likely have called an early election for November. Salvini, who triggered the crisis on 08 August 2019 when he withdrew his party from the governing coalition with M5S, said the new set-up was fragile and unlikely to last.
Conte's government was the 66th in the Italian Republic. It had taken office in September 2019. In mid-January 2021, his coalition broke apart in a dispute about the best way to disburse more than €200 billion ($240 billion) in EU aid money to recover from the coronavirus crisis. Conte, in power since 2018, stood down after one of his governing partners - ex-PM Matteo Renzi's Italia Viva party - pulled out of the coalition. Renzi opposed Conte's plans for spending more than €200 billion ($243 billion) of EU recovery fund cash. Conte survived a confidence vote in Italy's lower house of parliament last week, but failed to secure a majority in the Senate, the upper house.
The ruling parties wanted to avoid snap elections this time. Opinion polls suggest they would lead to victory for a center-right coalition comprising Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia and the League party.
Italy's former premier Matteo Renzi said on 13 January 2021 he was pulling his party's ministers from the cabinet, effectively leaving the ruling coalition without a majority in parliament. His decision threw Italy into political chaos even as the country is struggling to contain the resurgent Covid-19 pandemic. Renzi, who heads the tiny Italia Viva party, had long threatened to quit the government, complaining about Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's plans over how to spend billions of euros promised by the European Union to relaunch the economy. After conferring with Italy's head of state, President Sergio Mattarella, Conte had expressed hope that Renzi’s support would remain.
“Otherwise, a [government] crisis wouldn't be understood by the country,” Conte told reporters. Mattarella has said that if the current government collapses, he may pull the plug on the legislature and trigger early elections rather than risk an alternative coalition with fragile support in parliament.
Opinion polls had consistently shown that any quick return to the ballot box would reward center-right forces, including the right-wing League of Matteo Salvini and the nationalist Brothers of Italy. Conte's main partners were the populist 5-Star Movement and the centre-left Democratic party. This coalition had replaced another also headed by lawyer Conte that included Salvini's Eurosceptic party and the 5-Stars. With Renzi's support gone, Conte could attempt a cabinet shuffle. Alternatively, Mattarella could seek out a non-political figure to lead a government. Two names have been touted by political commentators: Mario Draghi, the former European Central Bank chief, and Marta Cartabia, who formerly headed Italy's constitutional court. Renzi brushed off criticism that he is irresponsibly provoking a government crisis in the middle of a pandemic. “What we’re doing is called POLITICS: studying the cards and making proposals,” he tweeted. The former PM is known for his power plays.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte won a confidence vote in the upper house Senate on 19 Janauary 2021. He failed to secure an absolute majority, however, meaning that Conte now headed a minority government that will struggle to implement its policy programme in the divided parliament unless it can flip some opposition lawmakers over the coming weeks. Having overcome a similar confidence motion in the lower house on Monday, Conte won in the 321-seat Senate by 156 to 140, with 16 abstentions. Had he lost, he would have had to resign, thrusting Italy deeper into political turmoil and potentially opening the way to new national elections, two years ahead of schedule.
Conte tendered his resignation to the president 26 January 2021 after first informing ministers, the government's cabinet office has said. Conte is expected to then try and form a new government. The PM faced calls from within his own government to resign and assemble a new administration after losing his Senate majority days earlier when ex-PM Matteo Renzi withdrew his party from the coalition. Renzi's Italia Viva party resigned in response to the government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the country's economic recession – a move that had thrown Italian politics into fresh disarray. Conte hoped that President Sergio Mattarella will give him the mandate to create a new government. The ruling parties want to avoid snap elections this time. Opinion polls suggest they would lead to victory for a center-right coalition comprising Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia and the League party.
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