Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Tuesday that he will submit his resignation to the president today, ending Italy’s 14-month-old populist government.
“At the end of the debate I will go to the President of the Republic to officially communicate the end of this government and present to my resignation to him,” Conte said in a speech before the Senate.
He also slammed far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, saying that he’d acted selfishly by choosing to end the country’s governing coalition.
“It is irresponsible to initiate a government crisis,” Conte said adding that the move “shows personal and party interests.”
Conte said that Salvini’s decision has exposed the country to the risk of “a whirling spiral of political uncertainty and financial instability.”
“Making citizens vote is the essence of democracy, asking them to vote every year is irresponsible,” the prime minister said.
Two weeks ago, Salvini made the surprise announcement that his far-right League no longer wanted to remain in an alliance with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and advocated for fresh elections.
The decision has plunged the eurozone’s third-largest economy into a crisis and an uncertain political future.