Italy: Leftist 5-Star Movement Ousts Right-Leaning Anti-Immigration Matteo Salvini, Denying New Elections
Italy’s anti-establishment Five-Star Movement announced Wednesday that it had made a deal with the left-wing Democratic Party to form a coalition government — keeping embattled Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in place while avoiding elections and ousting the right-wing League led by Matteo Salvini.
The shocking turn of events comes a week after the current government collapsed.
Salvini, who was deputy prime minister and whose party has been surging in the polls, had demanded snap elections and said that the 5-Star-League coalition government was not working amid increasing tensions between coalition parties. Polls suggested that Salvini’s League could win enough seats to govern outright, or with a smaller right-wing party.
ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER RESIGNS AS POPULIST LEADER SALVINI DEMANDS SNAP ELECTION
But 5-Star leader Luigi di Maio said Wednesday that, after meetings with President Sergio Mattarella, a deal with the Democratic Party had been made — one that would mean Italians would not go to the polls and that would keep Conte as prime minister.
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