Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Feuding within Italian coalition intensifies

1196068
1196068
minus
plus

ROME: Italy’s coalition partners clashed angrily on Friday over mutual allegations of corruption, with relations between the League and 5-Star Movement at their lowest ebb since they formed a government in May last.


The anti-establishment 5-Star accused its far-right ally of threatening to bring down the government. The League angrily denied the charge, but party sources acknowledged the row was taking a heavy toll on their partnership.


The coalition was thrown into turmoil on Thursday when Armando Siri, an economic adviser to League leader Matteo Salvini, was placed under investigation for allegedly accepting bribes to promote the interests of renewable energy companies.


Siri, who serves as an undersecretary in the transport ministry, denied the accusations, but when news of the probe leaked, Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is a 5-Star member, stripped him of his government responsibilities.


The unilateral move angered the League and led to furious recriminations between the two parties, highlighting how their relations are deteriorating in the run-up to next month’s European Union parliamentary election.


“...Even today the League is threatening to bring down the government... I’m really stunned,” 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio wrote on Facebook.


In comments that further inflamed tensions, Di Maio said his party had seen Siri in the past trying to introduce measures that were “a bit controversial”.


“We remember them. When they landed on our desk they seemed strange and we stopped them. ... Without us, who knows what would have happened,” Di Maio wrote, without giving any details. While Siri made no immediate comment, Salvini responded with a brief, sharply worded statement.


“The League wants to govern well and for a long time in the interests of Italians. Thoughts of a government crisis can only to be found in Di Maio’s head,” he said.


The two parties forged an unexpected alliance in May last following an inconclusive national vote. While they govern together, they remain bitter ballot-box adversaries and tensions between the two have always risen ahead of any elections.


— Reuters


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon