RAI-President Dissolves Parliament, Guaranteeing Snap Election

Italian broadcaster RAI reporting that President Sergio Matteralla has officially dissolved parliament, ensuring that a general election will take place in the autumn.

• According to the Italian constitution, a minimum of 45 days must pass between the dissolution of parliament and the election taking place, meaning the very earliest an election could take place is Sunday 4 September, but most reports have had 18 September penciled in as the likely date.
• Bloomberg reported yesterday the difficulties posed by autumn elections: " ..due to the steps laid out in the Italian constitution to form a government, and the need to have a new budget each year in mid-Autumn. That means that if an election were to happen in the summer, there wouldn’t be enough time to form a stable government and to negotiate and pass a budget by the prescribed deadline...After the vote, a newly appointed parliament would still need to start consulting on possible prime ministers, and only after that it could start working on a new budget law.[...] Draghi would still act as a caretaker but his powers would be limited. It would be hard to draft a budget for 2023, which by law needs to be presented to the European Union by mid-October."