Italy's president says the country will need to hold a fresh vote if bickering political parties cannot work together. Negotiations to form a government have been deadlocked since an inconclusive election in March.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Lehtikuva/J. Nukari
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Italian President Sergio Mattarella issued a stern warning on Monday amid failing government-building talks and proposed that a "neutral" administration be formed to lead the country until December.
Mattarella called on the bickering parties to show "responsibility" and support his currently unnamed government, adding that a new vote would have to be held if such an administration failed to find the necessary backing in parliament.
How the political crisis began
An Italian election on March 4 resulted in a hung parliament after none of the country's political forces managed to clear the 40-percent hurdle necessary to govern.
The 5-Star Movement (M5S) emerged as the largest single party with 32 percent of the vote, but has struggled to put together a coalition with its rivals.
Democracy Italian style: The weirdest moments of Italy's election campaign
Ahead of parliamentary elections on Sunday, Italy is suffering from a bout of voter apathy. Considering what they've seen on the campaign trail might explain why.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/B. N. Clarke
He's back, and this time he's a vegetarian
Last Easter, in an attempt to soften his image as he eyed a return to politics, Berlusconi took part in an ad promoting vegetarianism that featured him snuggling lambs in soft lighting overlaid with easy listening music. Although Berlusconi is barred from seeking office for another year due to a fraud conviction, a bloc led by his Forza Italia party has been polling strongly.
Image: youtube/TG4 - Telegiornale
'No one will marry you'
Berlusconi is well known for offensive remarks and belittling women, so it's no surprise he did both in one go on the campaign trail. Earlier in February, he told a BBC journalist that her handshake was too manly; "Otherwise men will think, this one is going to beat me up, and no one will marry you."
Image: picture-alliance/ROPI/Napoli/Giacomino
Win (a date with) Salvini!
Matteo Salvini of the far-right Northern League came up with a humble publicity stunt – whoever likes his Facebook posts can win a chance to take a picture with "the captain", talk to him on the phone, or meet in private. He was lambasted on social media and by Italy's La Repubblica daily, which wrote: "The captain? Even Silvio Berlusconi in his golden age would envy this kind of self-regard."
Image: www.salvinipremier.it
Think about it!
If ex-PM Matteo Renzi was hoping to make a big splash with this tepid ad in which — surprise! — he shows up on a bike and tells a family to "think about" voting for him, then he was certainly successful. Just not perhaps in the way he wanted. The staggeringly lackluster TV spot was parodied countless times on social media.
Image: Youtube/Matteo Renzi
Just us kids
Luigi di Maio of Italy's anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) has repeatedly used his age of only 31 to try and connect with younger voters and is prolific on social media. One of his most cringeworthy attempts to relate to millennial voters came in a video he posted to Instagram in which he said M5S would make Italy "fly high," before "flying" himself in an entertainment complex.
Image: Instagram/luigi.di.maio
Pope: Fake news is like being aroused by feces
After the US election, the Pope warned about the spread of fake news in Italy and its undue influence. He called untrue, sensational stories "the greatest damage the media can do," in an interview with the Catholic weekly Tertio. "I think the media...must not fall into – no offense intended – the sickness of coprophilia," he said, using a more polite term for an abnormal interest in faeces.
Image: picture-alliance/Catholic Press Photo
Prime Minister Oliver?
Comedian and pundit John Oliver brought the tumultous Italian election to the attention of a wider audience in one of his famous TV segments, skewering Berlusconi. Oliver's solution to Italy's unwieldy democracy? Encouraging Italian lawmakers to appoint him: "Incredibly, I am far from your worst option," he joked while cuddling a lamb.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/B. N. Clarke
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'No faith' in president's proposal
"Let the parties decide of their own free will if they should give full powers to a government ... or else new elections [should be held] immediately in the month of July or the autumn," Mattarella said in a televised statement.
In a tweet, the leader of the 5-Star Movement, Luigi Di Maio said: "[We have] No faith in a "neutral" government, which is synonymous with a government of technocrats. We are going to vote in July."
Forza Italia, the party led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, cautioned against rushing towards an early election: "We are not afraid of an election, but a summer [vote] does not help turnout. Autumn is better."
Acting leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) Maurizio Martina praised Mattarella's plan: "We hope that it's heard by all political forces. The PD will not fall short in its support for his initiative."
Why has there been a struggle to form a coalition government? The left-wing M5S offered to form a coalition with the far-right League, but the League has refused to ditch its alliance with Berlusconi's Forza Italia, which M5S will not cooperate with. The possibility of a M5S coalition with the PD was also ruled out last week when the PD's national leadership voted against pursuing any such alliance.
Italian parties deadlocked
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What would the neutral government do? The president said the neutral government would be given the task of drawing up a 2019 budget to stave off the threat of an automatic increase in sales taxes that would be triggered if the country's deficit floundered. He said the administration would also help Italy stick to its international obligations, including participating in a June European Council meeting. The government would then dissolve at the end of the year ahead of elections planned for early 2019.
