Italian President Sergio Mattarella dissolved parliament on Thursday and effectively triggered a snap election following the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi earlier on the same day.
The national election will be taking place on the 25th of September, with Mattarella describing the developments as inevitable. In a short address from his Quirinale Palace residence in Rome, the president thanked Draghi and his ministers for their efforts over the past 18 months.
“The political situation that has been determined has led to this decision,” he added. “The discussion, the vote, and the manner in which this vote was cast yesterday in the Senate made clear the loss of parliamentary support for the government and the absence of prospects for forming a new majority. This situation made the early dissolution of the chambers inevitable.”
The resignation by Draghi comes after several key parties in his coalition boycotted a confidence vote in the government Wednesday night. Draghi’s resignation came despite his popularity among many, both within Italy and outside, as many world leaders see him as an important voice in standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mattarella continued on to say that the period Italy will be going through does not allow for pauses in the interventions that are indispensable to counteract the effects of the economic and social crisis. In particular, the rise of inflation has caused much turmoil across the globe.
Draghi, a prominent economist unaffiliated with any political party, became prime minister in February 2021, leading a cabinet of ministers from across the country’s vast political spectrum.
The fifth prime minister to lead the country in just eight years, he won the moniker of ‘Super Mario’ after saving the euro during Europe’s sovereign debt crisis.
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