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How Italian and international press reacted to 'unprecedented' political crisis

The Local Italy
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How Italian and international press reacted to 'unprecedented' political crisis
Caretaker PM Carlo Cottarelli leaves the presidential palace. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

Political uncertainty is nothing new in Italy, but the latest developments are dramatic even by Italian standards.

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More than two months after inconclusive elections, two populist parties (the Five Star Movement and League) agreed on a coalition deal prime minister.

President Sergio Mattarella approved the PM and all the names put forward for cabinet roles -- apart from one, a eurosceptic nominated for finance minister. Presidents have rejected ministers before, and in the past, the PM has usually put forward another name in order to finalize the cabinet.

But this time, the League and M5S refused to back down over their Finance Minister choice, leading to the collapse of their government bid, and the appointment of a technocrat caretaker PM. Now both parties are calling for the impeachment of Mattarella and for public protests as Italy enters a new kind of political chaos.

Here's how the press reacted in Italy and abroad.

Liberal daily Repubblica referred to the Five Star Movement's call for public demonstrations: 'Mattarella, the challenge of the piazzas. And now there's a risk of an August election.'

Il Fatto Quotidiano, which describes itself as 'anti-establishment', led with the headline 'Cotarelli is born dead. And Merkel threatens us', while its online edition had an article written by the Five Star Movement's co-founder Beppe Grillo, titled 'Keep calm, it's only politics'.

On Monday, the paper went with the headline 'King Sergio blows everything up', complete with a photo of a smiling Mattarella with a crown and throne.

Conservative tabloid Il Giornale, owned by the Berlisconi family: 'Democracy suspended'. The paper criticized the preparation of a technocratic government with no mandate.

La Stampa: 'League and M5S, the assault on (presidential palace) the Colle begins.'

Conservative daily Il Tempo showed a simulation of election results, which suggested a M5S-League alliance would win in 90 percent of Italy's electoral colleges.



The developments in Italy are also being closely observed overseas. Le Monde's Italy correspondent penned the above piece with the headline 'In Italy, the culture of compromise has disappeared, replaced by a culture of confrontation.'

Meanwhile, Le Figaro declared that Italy was 'mired in a political crisis without precedent'.

In Belgium, De Standaard's headline proclaimed: 'The League triumphs, Berlusconi beckons.'
 

Above, German business daily Handelsblatt notes: 'In Rome, a government without support is taking over.'

Elsewhere in Germany, Tagesspiegel wrote 'Europe without Italy is like a person without a heart'.

 

 

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