MNI BRIEF: Late Efforts To Avoid Political Crisis in Italy

Clemente Mastella, a former minister in both centre-right and centre-left Italian governments, who is trying to build a small coalition of independents to back the government, has told MNI that he thinks differences will eventually be solved between Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and former PM Matteo Renzi. Mastella, a Labour minister under Silvio Berlusconi and a Justice Minister under Romano Prodi, told MNI his "initiative is to keep the Government on its feet but not to finish the legislature."

Fresh talks are underway to bridge differences between Conte and Italia Viva's leader Renzi, who has been set to announce the resignation of his two ministers from the government, triggering a formal Government crisis, pushing Conte to seek support in the Senate among independents to overcome a confidence vote.

Renzi's scheduled press conference has been pushed back from its original time as the parties look to avoid another political crisis in Rome. An additional 24 and 72 hours to find a deal approving new emergency fiscal measures due to Covid19 would likely be available, saving the problem of trying to get the deal through in the middle of a parliamentary crisis.