Crisis Chronology

ITALY

12/06/2023

Italy withdraws from China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

10/22/2022

Meloni elected prime minister

Georgia Meloni becomes prime minister.

09/25/2022

In voting today, conservative coalition seems certain to win theright to form a government. Exit polls give the coalition has about 45% of the voting and Georgia Meloni’s Brothers Italy 25%, the largest percentage for any single party. The center-left alliance has about 25%.

08/07/2022

Centrist party Azione pulls out of coalition after the leader of the Democratic Party, Enrico Letta, forms an alliance with the radical leftwing group Sinistra Italiana and Europa Verde, a green party launched last year. This further weakens the center-left coalition, leaving the rightist coalition in a very strong position in the upcoming elections.

07/22/2022

Parliament is dissolved and elections called for 9/5.

07/21/2022

Draghi resigns again

Draghi resigns and Matarella accepts it. Matarella will meet with parliamentary leaders on 7/22.

07/20/2022

Draghi survives a no-confidence vote, although the abstinence of the Five Star Movement, the League, and Forward Italy effectively ends the effort.

07/19/2022

Encouraged by public support, Draghi agrees to try to form a new government.

07/14/2022

Draghi resigns

Draghi presents his resignation to President Matarella, but the president rejects it, saying he should find a way to hold a governing coalition together.

07/13/2022

Five Star Movement boycotts a confidence motion in the legislature, says it will withdraw from the governing coalition, leaving it with a reduced majority and perhaps provoking new elections. Draghi has said he would not continue to govern without the Five Start Movement.

07/05/2022

Government declares state of emergency due to severe drought in the agricultural region of the Po valley.

07/04/2022

Draghi meets with Conte to discuss the ruling coalition.

06/21/2022

Luigi di Maio announces that he will leave the Five Star Movement and form his own party that will support Draghi. He has been at odds with party leader Giuseppe Conte, and the Five Star Movement recently fell behind the Brotherhood of nn party in some local polls. Conte says the FSM will remain in the government coalition.

06/16/2022

Gazprom cuts supplies to Italy by 50%. France has received no gas from the company for more than a month.

06/14/2022

In regional voting on 6/12, rightist parties, especially the Brothers of Italy and its coalition partner Lega, gain offices. Turnout is very low.

06/12/2022

Voting on five resolutions reforming the judicial system is invalidated due to low turnout.

04/26/2022

Italy signs an agreement with Congo to develop a new natural gas project that will launch next year.

04/25/2022

Italy signs agreement with Angola to increase gas importation from Angola to reduce reliance on Russian gas.

04/05/2022

Italy expels thirty Russian diplomats for security and “in the context of” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

01/29/2022

Matterella, who agreed not to retire so that Draghi could remain prime minister, is re-elected.

01/24/2022

Election for president begins, with voting by parliamentarians and regional officials, to replace Sergio Matterella. PM Draghi is said to be interested, but many would prefer that he remain as PM, because he has been a stabilizing and effective leader. Silvio Berlusconi offered to run, but then dropped out.

10/07/2021

Ireland drops its objection to tax reform, agreeing to increase tax rate on large multinational companies based in Ireland. Estonia also approves the global tax rate agreement, so all 38 members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development have agreed to the new tax rate.

08/12/2021

Sicily records the highest temperature ever in Europe, 48.8° C (119° F).

07/28/2021

Government and Five-Star Movement reach agreement on judicial reform, avoiding a no-confidence vote.

07/22/2021

Government requires proof of vaccination or negative test for COVID-19 to engage in a range of leisure activities, from theaters to indoor dining.

06/04/2021

G-7 nations -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the US -- agree to institute a global 15% tax on businesses and steps to restrict tax havens. It will take long negotiations. Nations such as Ireland benefit from the current tax laws, which allow them to be tax havens. The new rules will have to be approved by the legislatures of the participating countries. In principle, if a German company reports its profits through an Irish subsidiary, where taxes are 5%, Germany would receive 10% of those profits.

03/15/2021

Most of Italy enters lockdown again, in part due to new virulent variant of the COVID-19 virus.

02/12/2021

Draghi becomes prime minister

Draghi secures support of the League, the Five Star Movement and even Forza to become prime minister in a unity government.

02/06/2021

Draghi gains support of 5-Star Movement and the League to form a government of national unity.

02/03/2021

Mario Draghi, economist formerly head of EU Central Bank, is given authority to attempt to form a new government.

01/26/2021

Conte resigns

Conte resigns, leaving the government without a clear path forward in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination program. It is possible he would return in a new constellation of government, or that Rienzi may rejoin a new governing coalition, but there are no obvious paths.

01/19/2021

Conte survives no-confidence vote

Senate votes in favor of Conte. He will remain as prime minister in a minority government unless he can attract new support in the Senate.

01/18/2021

Large protests on the anniversary of the revolution. However, there is little organization and the police and security forces and repressing them strongly. More than six hundred are arrested.

01/14/2021

The coalition government of centrist Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is in chaos after ex-PM Matteo Renzi withdrew his tiny party from it. Mr Renzi objects to Mr Conte's plans for spending €209bn of EU recovery funds that are part of the EU aid package for the COVID-19 crisis. The withdrawal of Mr Renzi's Italia Viva leaves Mr Conte lacking a majority in the upper house, the Senate. A snap election is a possibility, but Mr Renzi has very low ratings in polls.

10/25/2020

Government closes pools, gym, and cinemas, to combat COVID-19 pandemic.

10/18/2020

Italy sees another new high in COVID-19 cases. Government allows cities to impose new curfews, bans local fairs and restricts restaurants.

10/13/2020

Italy imposes new restrictions on public gatherings and restaurants as COVID-19 cases increase sharply.

10/07/2020

Italy reports highest number of new cases of COVID-19 since April and institutes fines for not wearing a mask.

09/22/2020

In a referendum, Italians vote to reduce he size of parliament by one-third, from 634 to 400. The total number of MPs and senators will be reduced from 945 to 600. Other regional elections see wins for the Democratic Party and losses for the League.

05/15/2020

Government preparing to allow free movement in Italy on 6/3. Retail stores to open and free movement within home regions on 5/18. Italy has about 220,000 cases and more than 31,000 deaths.

04/30/2020

Stay-at-home set to be eased beginning on 5/4.

04/21/2020

First drop in the number of active COVID-19 cases. Italy now has just over 108,000 cases. 80,000 cases have recovered.

04/07/2020

New cases of COVID-19 dropping somewhat.

03/24/2020

Spain becomes the second-hardest hit country from COVID-19, after Italy. China, where the virus seems to be somewhat controlled, is third. China president Li Keqiang says domestic spread of the virus is controlled.

03/22/2020

Russia sends medical help and equipment to Italy.

03/21/2020

Government issues stay-at-home order that bars almost all activity outside the home.

03/11/2020

Government decrees that all economic activity except for food sales and pharmacies stop due to steep increase in coronavirus spread and fatalities.

03/09/2020

Government restricts travel throughout the country except for work and health reasons.

03/06/2020

Government closes travel to and from fifteen northern regions due to COVID-19 epidemic.

03/05/2020

Government postpones constitutional referendum scheduled for 3/29 because of coronavirus outbreak.

03/04/2020

Italy closes schools for two weeks due to COVID-19.

02/22/2020

Government reports outbreak of COVID-19 virus, especially in the north. Government restricts Carnivale, putting about 50,000 in quarantine in villages in Lombardy.

02/12/2020

Parliament strips immunity from Salvini. A court has said he could be charged with criminally detaining refugees in 2019.

01/27/2020

In a key local election, the incumbent Democratic Party retains control of Emilia-Romagna, holding off a serious challenge from the League.

01/22/2020

Di Maio resigns as leader of the Five Star Movement, which is losing in polls for the regional election in Emilia-Romagna. The party will choose a new leader.

12/03/2019

Increasing protests by students, who have nicknamed themselves “Sardines,” against Salvini’s anti-immigrant, nationalist stances.

11/12/2019

High tides flood Venice, causing a state of emergency. The mayor of Venice attributes the height of the tides to climate change.

09/17/2019

Former PM Matteo Renzi quits the Democratic Party to form his own centrist party to “do politics differently.” The move could disrupt the governing coalition.

09/09/2019

Parliament approves Conte’s cabinet.

08/28/2019

5-Star Movement and Democratic Party agree to form new coalition for governing that includes keeping Conte as prime minister.

08/27/2019

Talks between the 5-Star Movement and the Democratic Party continue, with expressions of some optimism.

08/27/2019

5-Star Movement ends coalition talks with PD and demands that Conte remain as prime minister. However, President Matarella says that he will hold talks with both groups with a view to finding a way out of the crisis.

08/21/2019

PD and MS5 movement “united” in an attempt to form a new government if MS5 agrees to guarantee the "loyal membership" of the European Union, a change in handling migrants, environmental sustainability and policies to boost investment, according to PD leader Nicolas Zingaretti.

08/20/2019

Conte resigns, criticizing Salvini. After other parliamentarians echo Conte, the League withdraws its no-confidence motion.

08/12/2019

Democratic Party (PD) says that it would not call for immediate elections, and that President Sergio Mattarella should decide. The Five Star Movement has been working with the PD to form a governing coalition to pass the budget.

08/09/2019

League leader Matteo Salvini declares that the governing coalition has collapsed and calls for a no-confidence vote against Conte.

08/05/2019

Parliament passes legislation that will give Matteo Salvini more control over immigration, causing friction with Five Star Movement. Salvini is now the de facto leader of the Italian government.

04/08/2019

Salvini announces formation of an alliance of populist and right-wing parties to compete in the EU parliament elections 5/26. It is not clear what other European parties will join. Marine Le Pen of the French National Gathering and the Alternative for Germany haves expressed support. However, other parties reject Salvini’s support of Russia and his willingness to accept some immigration. The Five Star Movement in Italy has lost support in recent months as it attempts to govern, with mixed results. Liugi di Maio of the Five Star Movement has criticized Salvini’s proposed alliance.

03/18/2019

Government reported to be opening four ports to Chinese investment as part of the Belt and Road Project.

02/07/2019

France recalls its ambassador to Italy after Italian deputy prime minister Luigi di Maio meets with Yellow Vest representatives. Tension between the two countries has increased since Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini called Macron “a terrible president” in January.

01/29/2019

Italy falls into recession in the fourth quarter of 2018. A downturn was expected, but this is more than that, putting additional pressure on the government.

01/09/2019

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini meets with Polish Law and Justice Party leader Jaroslaw Kacynski to discuss forming a conservative bloc to increase influence in the EU parliament.

12/19/2018

EU accepts Italian budget

EU accepts new Italian budget that lowers its future deficit to 2.04%, down from the 2.4% it had offered but higher than the 2.6% the EU had requested. The new budget also “delays” the introduction of a universal income plan, adds sales of public buildings, and increases penalties for tax dodgers.

12/18/2018

Italy offers EU a new budget with reduced deficit and spending, but retains income subsidies and pension reforms.

11/13/2018

Italy holds to its proposed 2019 budget with some modifications, but the European Commission is still likely to reject it. If so, negotiations could continue or fines or reduction in regional subsidies could be imposed.

10/24/2018

EU demands further changes to Italian budget. Italians resist.

10/20/2018

Italy insists that it will hold to its announced budget despite EU objections. Moody’s lowers the country’s credit rating.

10/18/2018

EU criticizes Italian proposed budget for raising deficit well beyond EU guidelines.

10/14/2018

Outcry over reported military attack on boat full of migrants. Morocco becomes a focus for migrants now that Italy and Libya have restricted human smuggling.

10/08/2018

Sharp rise in bond prices as government struggles to present an economic plan. Deputy PM Matteo Salvini insists that Italy will not leave the Eurozone any time soon, and another official says that Italy will not default on its loans.

10/03/2018

Government suggests it may further reduce deficit in upcoming budgets, a possible concession to EU.

09/27/2018

Italian government tells EU that it will reject the scheduled budget constraints that would reduce public debt to 0.8% of GDP. The government says it will institute budgets that will put debt at 2.4% for 2019 and the next two years. The EU commission is dissatisfied with the proposal.

09/27/2018

Government tells EU that it will reject the scheduled budget constraints that would reduce public debt to 0.8% of GDP. The government says it will institute budgets that will put debt at 2.4% for 2019 and the next two years. The EU commission is dissatisfied with the proposal.

08/26/2018

Migrants on a refugee boat off Sicily are allowed to disembark after a five-day dispute between Italy and the EU. Sicilian prosecutors open an investigation of Interior Minister Matteo Salvini for “illegal confinement, illegal arrest, and abuse of power.”

07/06/2018

Germany, Austria, and Italy agree to hold talks next week on how to shut down Mediterranean migration route from Africa.

07/02/2018

In letters sent in June, Trump demands that Germany, Canada, Belgium, and Norway and perhaps other NATO members increase their contributions to NATO, saying that the US will reconsider its troop deployment if there is no change.

06/12/2018

Migrants are moved off the troubled ship to another vessel to take them to Spain.

06/11/2018

Italy refuses to permit a large boatload of refugees from to dock at any of its ports. Spain has offered to take the group, but it is not clear whether the boat can survive the trip.

06/01/2018

Five Star/League government accepted

Five Star Movement and the League present a government to Cottarelli that he accepts. Conte remains prime minister, with Matteo Salvini, leader of the League, as interior minister and Luigi di Maio as minister of labor and economic development. The controversial Savona will hold a less critical cabinet post and a relatively moderate economist, Giovanni Tria will be finance minister.

05/31/2018

With Cottarelli unlikely to receive parliamentary approval, Five Star Movement and the League resume negotiations about forming a government.

05/27/2018

President Matterella rejects Conte’s suggestion for economy minister, Euroskeptic Paolo Savona, saying that Italy cannot have a minister who would make Europe fear that Italy will leave the euro. It is the president’s right to approve cabinet choices. Consequently, Conte rejects offer to form a government. Matterella nominates technocrat known as “Mr. Scissors” for his austerity policies, Carlo Cottarelli, to form an interim government that will probably hold new elections.

05/26/2018

Eighteen countries join UK in unusual diplomatic rebuke to Russia for the murder of Sergei Skripal. US expels sixty Russian diplomats, the largest number ever. Other countries expelling diplomats are: Albania, Australia, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and Ukraine.

05/23/2018

President Matterella charges Conte with forming a government.

05/22/2018

Conte is accused of inflating his academic record by saying he was with some institutions that have now said they have no evidence he attended or worked there.

05/21/2018

Five Star Movement and the League offer a law professor from Milan who has not been involved in politics, Giuseppe Conte, to be prime minister.

05/18/2018

Five Star Movement and the League agree to a coalition pact, which emphasizes debt reduction through internal growth, guaranteed income for those below the poverty line, and maximum taxes of 15% on individuals and 20% on businesses.

05/12/2018

Milan court “cancels” effects of Berlusconi’s 2013 conviction for tax fraud, allowing him to run for prime minister if talks between the Five Star Movement and the League break down. The decision can be appealed.

05/10/2018

Five Star Movement and the League say they have made significant steps toward a governing coalition.

05/07/2018

Di Maio says he will not back a technocrat administration, as suggested by President Matterella, if there is no agreement between the % Star Movement and the League. However, he gives up his insistence on being prime minister.

05/02/2018

Matteo Salvini, representing the coalition of rightist parties including the League and Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, makes what he calls a “final offer” for a governing coalition, but the Five Start Movement rejects it. Leader Luigi di Maio says it is impossible to unite with Berlusconi and that new elections are the only solution.

03/05/2018

Populist parties lead election results

Election results leave open the direction of a new government. The Five Star Movement, led by Luigi Di Maio, a young and relatively inexperienced politician, wins the largest number of votes, 31%. It did particularly well in the south and central parts of Italy. The League comes in second with 18%, and Forza Italia won a disappointing 14%, but this rightist coalition has a plurality in parliament with 151 seats of 630. The Five Star Movement wins 133 seats. The Democratic Party won just under 20% and 88 seats. The Democratic Party asserts that it will not join a government with either the Five Star Movement or the League. The Five Star Movement has advocated repatriation of migrants and a living wage among other populist stances. Its five stars are: public water, sustainable transport, sustainable development, right to Internet access, and environmentalism.

03/04/2018

General elections in Italy have been dominated by rightist and populist parties. Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party is leading in polls, though Berlusconi is barred from holding office, so his lieutenant, Antonio Tajani, is the candidate. The League (formerly the Northern Leagued), led by Matteo Salvini, has moderated its anti-immigrant rhetoric, and is running strongly. The Five Star Movement is also a factor. Overall, anti-Europe rhetoric is widespread.