The Draghi government was the 67th government of the Italian Republic, led by former President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi. It was in office between 13 February 2021 and 22 October 2022.
The Draghi government was formed following the resignation of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in the midst of a political crisis which led to the Conte government losing its majority. After consultations with political parties, President Sergio Mattarella tasked Draghi with forming a "high-profile" government. Mattarella stated that the new government would have to face the health, economic and social crises related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as overseeing the EU relief fund associated with it. The Draghi government was described as a national unity government by numerous news sources. The choice by Mattarella to appoint Draghi as Prime Minister was welcomed by some international observers, with others casting doubt on the stability of a new technocratic government.
The Draghi Government was formed with both politicians and independent technocrats, and was supported by a large majority of the Italian Parliament, including the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), the right-wing League (Lega), the centre-right Forza Italia (FI), the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), the centrist Italia Viva (IV), and the leftist Article One (Art.1).Governo, Draghi scioglie la riserva e annuncia i ministri: Franceschini alla Cultura, Cartabia alla Giustizia, Franco all'Economia, Cingolani alla Transizione ecologica, la Repubblica
On 21 July 2022, following M5S, Lega and FI's withdrawal of their support to the government, Prime Minister Draghi submitted his resignation. The government continued to operate as a caretaker government until the next government formation following the 2022 Italian general election on 25 September.
Supporting parties Beginning of term At the time of the government formation, its ministers were part of the following parties. PartyMain ideologyLeaderFive Star Movement (M5S)PopulismGiuseppe Conte League (Lega)Right-wing populismMatteo SalviniDemocratic Party (PD)Social democracyEnrico LettaForza Italia (FI)Liberal conservatismSilvio BerlusconiItalia Viva (IV)LiberalismMatteo RenziArticle One (Art.1)Social democracyRoberto Speranza
End of term After 1 August 2022 the government was composed of the following parties. PartyMain ideologyLeaderLeague (Lega)Right-wing populismMatteo SalviniDemocratic Party (PD)Social democracyEnrico LettaFive Star Movement (M5S)PopulismGiuseppe Conte Action (Az)LiberalismCarlo CalendaTogether for the Future (IpF)ReformismLuigi Di MaioItalia Viva (IV)LiberalismMatteo RenziArticle One (Art.1)Social democracyRoberto SperanzaEnvironment 2050 (A2050)EnvironmentalismFederico D'Incà On 21 June 2022, Luigi Di Maio led a breakaway group outside of the M5S and formed Together for the Future, which confirmed its support for the government. Mariastella Gelmini, Renato Brunetta and Mara Carfagna left FI on 21, 22 and 26 July, respectively. On 29 July, Gelmini and Carfagna joined Action. On 30 July, Federico D'Incà left the M5S, and on 1 August he founded Environment 2050 alongside deputy Davide Crippa.
History Background
On 13 January 2021, Italia Viva (IV) withdrew its support for the second Conte government, triggering a political crisis. Conte subsequently won confidence motions in both houses of Parliament, with the abstention of IV, but could only reach a plurality in the Senate, rather than an absolute majority.Il Senato vota la fiducia a Conte: il Governo ha la maggioranza relativa con 156 sì, Fanpage In the wake of this, Conte tendered his resignation to President Mattarella, who then began a round of discussions with various parties to form a new government.
Government formation
Mattarella met with delegations of political parties on 28 and 29 January to determine their views on the formation of a new government. The Five Star Movement (M5S), Democratic Party (PD), Free and Equal (LeU), For the Autonomies, Europeanists, and some members of the Mixed Group all expressed support for the reappointment of Conte as Prime Minister, but IV ruled this out.Consultazioni, Zingaretti: "Pd sostiene incarico a Conte, è punto di sintesi", la RepubblicaCrimi “Pronti a confronto anche con Italia Viva, ma serve lealtà”, Il TempoGoverno: secondo giorno di consultazioni. Renzi: 'Dopo i veti ci dicano se ci vogliono', ANSA The centre-right and right-wing parties, the League (Lega), Forza Italia (FI) and the Brothers of Italy (FdI), stated that they preferred a snap election, but would be willing to join a national unity government under certain conditions.Governo, Causin (Europeisti): “Conte è elemento di attrazione, non escludiamo un partito. Italia Viva? Fa la schifiltosa ma è nata come noi”, Il Fatto Quotidiano Following this deadlock, Mattarella asked Roberto Fico, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, to explore the possibility of a grand coalition government.Mattarella: “Possibile conferma della maggioranza attuale, va verificata”. Fico convocato al Quirinale, Il Fatto Quotidiano On 2 February, Fico confirmed that there was insufficient support for the proposal.
With the prospect of early elections looming, on 3 February Mattarella invited former ECB President Mario Draghi to the Quirinal Palace to charge him to forming a national unity government. Draghi accepted the offer, and began consultations with the leaders of political parties.Crisi governo, Draghi accetta l'incarico: "Vincere pandemia e rilanciare il Paese"., Sky Tg24 Conte publicly endorsed him as his successor the following day, and further negotiations commenced.Giuseppe Conte scende in campo. E si autodichiara federatore, Huffington Post On 10 February, League leader Matteo Salvini and FI leader Silvio Berlusconi jointly announced their support for Draghi. Conversely, FdI leader Giorgia Meloni stated that her party would go into opposition.Meloni attacca Salvini: "Non voterò la fiducia a Draghi, a lui Pd e la Boldrini vanno bene?", Internazionale The PD's national board unanimously voted on 11 February to support Draghi. The same day, the M5S held an online referendum on whether to "support a technical-political government with the other political forces indicated by the appointed prime minister Mario Draghi", which was approved by 59.3%.
Having achieved sufficient support, on 12 February Draghi met with President Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace and presented his list of ministers. The Draghi government was sworn in on the following day, 13 February, at 11:00 AM UTC. The government was composed of twenty-four ministers, eight women and sixteen men, most of them from Northern Italy, largely from Lombardy and Veneto; it contained representatives from all supportive political parties, as well as numerous independent technocrats.
Investiture vote On 17 February 2021, the Senate approved the Draghi government with 262 votes in favour, 40 against and 2 abstentions.Governo, ok del Senato alla fiducia a Draghi con 262 sì. "Grazie per la stima, andrà validata dai fatti". Nel M5S 15 votano contro, la Repubblica The following day, the Chamber of Deputies affirmed its support, with 535 votes in favour, 56 against and 5 abstentions. This was the third largest majority garnered by a government in the history of the Italian Republic after the Monti government and after the fourth Andreotti government.Draghi, ok al Senato senza record: oggi tocca alla Camera. Strappo M5S , Qui Finanza
House of ParliamentVotePartiesVotesSenate of the Republic Yes M5S (69), Lega–PSd'Az (62), FI–UDC (49), PD (35), IV–PSI (17), Eur–MAIE–CD (10), Aut (5), LeU (4), IdeA–C! (3), +Eu–A (2), Others (6) No FdI (19), M5S (15),now expelled, 6 of them founded the group Alt LeU / Italian Left (2), Others (4) Abstention Aut (1), Others (1) Chamber of Deputies Yes M5S (155), Lega (125), PD (91), FI (81), IV (28), CD (14), LeU (11), C! (10), NcI−USEI−AdC (5), SVP–PATT (4), Az–+Eu–RI (4), Eur–MAIE–PSI (2), Others (5) No FdI (31), M5S (16),now expelled, 13 of them founded the group Alt Lega (1),now in FdI LeU / Italian Left (1), Others (7) Abstention M5S (5)
Government crisis and collapse
In July 2022, the M5S did not participate to a confidence vote in the Senate on a government bill, the so-called decreto aiuti, regarding a €27 billion economic aid to counteract the energy and economy crisis. Prime Minister Draghi offered his resignation, which was rejected by President Mattarella. After a few days, on 20 July, Draghi spoke to the Senate again, seeking a confidence vote again to secure the government majority supporting his cabinet, while rejecting the proposal put forward by Lega and FI on a new government without the M5S. In that occasion, the M5S, Lega and FI, three major parties which were supporting the Draghi government, withdrew their support. Consequently, Draghi tendered his final resignation to President Mattarella, who dissolved the houses of Parliament, leading to an early election in September 2022, and asked Draghi to stay in office to handle current affairs (as is customary in Italian politics) until a new government could be formed following the upcoming general election.
Party breakdown
Beginning of term Ministers Independents9 Five Star Movement4 League3 Democratic Party3 Forza Italia3 Italia Viva1 Article One1
Ministers and other members Independents: Prime minister, 8 ministers, 3 undersecretaries Five Star Movement (M5S): 4 ministers, 2 deputy ministers, 9 undersecretaries League (Lega): 3 ministers, 1 deputy minister, 8 undersecretaries Democratic Party (PD): 3 ministers, 1 deputy minister, 5 undersecretaries Forza Italia (FI): 3 ministers, 1 deputy minister, 5 undersecretaries Italia Viva (IV): 1 minister, 1 deputy minister, 1 undersecretary Article One (Art.1): 1 minister, 1 undersecretary Democratic Centre (CD): 1 undersecretary Us with Italy (NcI): 1 undersecretary More Europe (+Eu): 1 undersecretary
End of term Ministers Independents10 League3 Democratic Party3 Five Star Movement2 Action2 Together for the Future1 Italia Viva1 Article One1Environment 20501
Ministers and other members Independents: Prime minister, 9 ministers, 2 undersecretaries League (Lega): 3 ministers, 1 deputy minister, 8 undersecretaries Democratic Party (PD): 3 ministers, 1 deputy minister, 5 undersecretaries Five Star Movement (M5S): 2 ministers, 1 deputy minister, 5 undersecretaries Action (Az): 2 ministers Together for the Future (IpF): 1 minister, 1 deputy minister, 4 undersecretaries Italia Viva (IV): 1 minister, 1 deputy minister, 1 undersecretary Article One (Art.1): 1 minister, 1 undersecretary Environment 2050 (A2050): 1 minister Forza Italia (FI): 1 deputy minister, 6 undersecretaries Democratic Centre (CD): 1 undersecretary Us with Italy (NcI): 1 undersecretary More Europe (+Eu): 1 undersecretary
Geographical breakdown
Northern Italy: 18 ministers Lombardy: 9 ministers Veneto: 4 ministers Emilia-Romagna: 2 ministers Friuli-Venezia Giulia: 1 minister Liguria: 1 minister Piedmont: 1 minister Central Italy: 2 ministers (including Draghi) Lazio: 2 ministers (including Draghi) Southern and Insular Italy: 4 ministers Basilicata: 2 ministers Campania: 2 ministers
Council of Ministers The Council of Ministers is composed of the following members: