He agreed to lead a government of national unity and gave in when he felt he did not have enough support for a non-political executive in Italy. Former European Central Bank Governor Mario Draghi handed his resignation letter to President Sergio Mattarella, the same one who asked him in 2021 to lay the foundations for a recovery of the covid-19 pandemic in the country in the middle. economic downturn. Mattarella refused, asking him to return to Parliament to see if he had a majority.
Em February last year, all parties with parliamentary representation, except for the “Brothers of Italy” (post-fascists), entered the ruling coalition. OUR threat of loss of support from the 5 Star Movement (anti-system), the formation that received the most votes in the last elections in 2018, has been growing for several weeks. This has now materialized when the party’s elected representatives refused to participate in a vote of confidence on the proposal in the Senate. Draghi did win the vote, but as he explained in a statement, he believes “the majority of national unity that has maintained this government since its inception no longer exists” and is ending “the trust pact that underpins the government’s actions.”
He was not required to resign; in fact, several centre-left parties have asked him not to, and some insist that the best way out of the crisis is indeed a Draghi bis government – an expression that everyone knows in Italy highlights how the situation, despite the complexity , is not unprecedented; already in this legislature there was a “conte bis” when Giuseppe Conte, leader of 5 Stars and former prime ministeragreed on a second government with different parties without a vote.
“I think government continuity would be very important at the moment,” he said. Enrico Lettathe general secretary of the Democratic Party (the largest center-left formation), as if refusing to recognize the alternative.
Formally, Mattarella can instruct Draghi to agree on a new majority. So far, it is known that he will return to parliament next Wednesday (international obligations that cannot be postponed prevent him from doing so earlier) to discuss the political situation. But his quick dismissal after the loss of 5 Star support was confirmed suggests he may have given up. your time ahead of country destinations.
The president wants to avoid elections in the autumn months – the next legislative election is scheduled for spring 2023 – in the midst of approving projects to use the 209 billion euros given to Italy by the EU Recovery Plan. If Draghi is not present, negotiations are already underway on who can lead the new head of the unit. But the far right is demanding that Italians be called to vote, ending a legislature that has too many political crises, twists and turns and theatrical upheavals even by Italian standards.
“With Draghi’s resignation, this legislature for the Brothers of Italy is over,” he tweeted. Georgia Meloni, the leader of the party currently leads the polls. “I am ready to manage,” Meloni emphasized, and Matteo Salvinithe leader of the League, who led a far-right coalition in 2018 (but now fears Meloni’s results and the election costs associated with supporting Draghi), defended that a period of political paralysis would be “unthinkable” and that “no one should be afraid to give back the floor to Italians.”
“Perplexity” in Brussels
5 Estrelas de Conte, on the other hand, plunged into an internal crisis for several months, still managing a split and the loss of some of his elected representatives – and at the very bottom of the polls – seemed almost surprised by the consequences of his decision. This is despite the fact that Draghi has made it clear that the government will not continue without this support.
Departed foreign minister Luigi Di Maio, former leader of 5 Stars movement and created his own party, “Together for the Future” accused the current leaders of the formation of having a plan to overthrow Draghi for several months. “They have nine months of campaigning to go to the polls, but by doing so they are dooming the country to an economic and social abyss,” he said.
Even before the vote, this Thursday, Di Maio won another seat in the Senate, and Senator Cynthia Leone decided to move to her parliamentary group, “disillusioned with Conte” and “disillusioned with politics” 5 Estrela.
In Brussels, European Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni, a former Italian prime minister, said the Commission was following developments in Italy “with due detachment, but with unsettling bewilderment.”
The Seoul Ministry of Defense said North Korea launched two cruise missiles on Wednesday, ending a month-long hiatus in Pyongyang’s record-breaking series of weapons tests this year.
“We discovered this morning that North Korea launched two cruise missiles towards the West Sea off the coast of Oncheon, South Pyongan Province,” a ministry spokesman told AFP. “US and South Korean military officials are looking into detailed specifications such as range.”
North Korea has not tested a cruise missile, which is not prohibited by UN sanctions against the country, since January, the Yonhap news agency reported. Pyongyang last tested weapons on July 10, when several rocket launchers were launched.
Since January, North Korea has conducted a series of sanctions-repressive tests, including the launch of a full-range ICBM for the first time since 2017. Officials in Washington and Seoul also warned that the isolated regime was preparing to carry out what would be its seventh nuclear test.
Earlier this week, the South Korean and US military began preliminary drills ahead of their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) joint exercise. The drills infuriate Pyongyang, which sees them as a rehearsal for an invasion.
South Korea says it will not pursue nuclear deterrence
South Korea’s president said today that his government has no plans to interfere with nuclear deterrence after North Korea’s nuclear capabilities increase. Yoon Suk-yeol urged Pyongyang to resume negotiations and diplomacy aimed at trading the stages of North Korea’s denuclearization for economic benefits.
Yoon’s office said South Korea’s director of national security, Kim Seong-han, discussed the launch with other officials before Yoon spoke to reporters at a press conference and reaffirmed South Korea’s military readiness.
Yoon told reporters that South Korea does not want violent political change in North Korea and called for a return to negotiations for a lasting peace.
Yun’s proposal, namely large-scale assistance in the fields of food, medicine and health care, as well as in the modernization of the energy industry and port infrastructure, is reminiscent of previous proposals by South Korea that were rejected by North Korea, namely, accelerating the development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, which North Korean leader Kim Jong-un regarded as the main guarantee of his survival.
Nevertheless, Yoon expressed hope for a “meaningful dialogue” with North Korea about his plan and emphasized that Seoul is ready to provide appropriate economic benefits at every stage of the denuclearization process if North Korea adopts a real roadmap to abandon its weapons program.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday called for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, highlighting the “risks” their presence poses to the facility’s security.
In a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, he expressed “concern about the threat of the presence, the actions of the Russian armed forces and the military context with ongoing conflicts over the security of Ukrainian nuclear facilities, and called for the withdrawal of such forces,” said the Champs Elysees, the residence of the President of the French Republic. .
The plant, the largest in Europe, was taken in early March by Russian troops at the start of their invasion of Ukraine launched on February 24.
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Since the end of July, there have been several explosions, of which two sides blame each othertargeted the facilities, raising fears of a nuclear holocaust and triggering last week’s meeting of the UN Security Council.
Emmanuel Macron also “supported” the proposal of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi send a mission to a location “as soon as possible” to inspect the object.
The heads of the two states “exchanged views on such a mission,” the French presidency said.
Russia accused the UN services of obstructing the IAEA mission. Ukraine, for its part, opposed, believing that such legitimize the Russian occupation of the central in the eyes of the international community.
The presidents of France and Ukraine, in turn, welcomed the departure of the first humanitarian ship, chartered by the UN and loaded with wheat from Ukraine, heading to the African continent, “where the needs are most urgent.”
Ukrainian-made cereals were delayed in the country for several months due to the war. Exports resumed on August 1 across the Black Sea by agreement between Russians and Ukrainians, mediated by Turkey and under the auspices of the UN.
Emmanuel Macron also confirmed France’s support for efforts to export Ukrainian grain. along the road and the river.
This European initiative made it possible to export 2.8 million tons of grain in July, and “the pace continues to accelerate,” Eliseu congratulated.
Russia admitted that Tuesday’s explosions at an army ammunition depot on the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, were an act of sabotage.
On the morning of August 16, as a result of sabotage, a military warehouse in the city of Dzhankoy, the capital of the district of the same name, was damaged, ”the Defense Ministry said in a statement quoted by the Russian news agency TASS.
According to the Russian command, explosions at the warehouse damaged several civilian facilities, including a high-voltage line, electrical substations, a railway line and several residential buildings.
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“There are no serious injuries. Necessary measures are being taken to eliminate the consequences of sabotage.”added to the Ministry of Defense, according to the Spanish agency EFE.
The ministry did not name those responsible for the sabotage.
In an earlier statement, Russian authorities said the incident took place at 6:15 am local time (4:15 am in Lisbon).
According to the Crimean Governor Sergey Aksyonov, who visited the place, two civilians were injured and the authorities evacuated the nearby village as a precaution.
Dzhankoy is located about 90 km north of Simferopol, the capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of Crimea, not far from Ukraine.
Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential administration of Ukraine, welcomed the occurrence of the explosions in Crimea and promised “the complete liberation of Ukrainian territories,” according to a statement on the Telegram social network, quoted by the French news agency AFP.
Adviser to the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podoliak also referred to the incident, writing on the social network Twitter that “the morning near Dzhankoy began with explosions.”
A normal country of Crimea is the Black Sea, mountains, recreation and tourism, while Russian-occupied Crimea is exploding ammunition depots and a high risk of death for occupiers and thieves,” added presidential adviser Volodymyr Zelensky.
The incident took place a week after the explosion of ammunition destined for Russian military aircraft at a warehouse located at the Saki military airfield in western Crimea.
These explosions killed one person and injured others.