Renzi thinks Italy PM will lose confidence vote -comment to paper

Former Italian premier Matteo Renzi said he does not believe Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has enough backing from lawmakers to win a confidence vote scheduled for next week, according to an interview published on Friday. Renzi plunged the country into political crisis on Wednesday when he withdrew his two ministers from the cabinet, presenting a long list of grievances over how Conte had handled the coronavirus emergency and the economy.

Former Italian premier Matteo Renzi said he does not believe Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has enough backing from lawmakers to win a confidence vote scheduled for next week, according to an interview published on Friday.

Renzi plunged the country into political crisis on Wednesday when he withdrew his two ministers from the cabinet, presenting a long list of grievances over how Conte had handled the coronavirus emergency and the economy. "I don't believe he (Conte) has the numbers (to win the vote)," Renzi told daily La Stampa. "I will abstain."

Conte has resisted calls to resign and wants to take his fight for survival to parliament, with his main coalition partners backing plans to try to find lawmakers from among opposition ranks to prop up the administration. He faces a vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies on Monday and, if he survives that, a tougher in the Senate upper house the following day. To stay in office, Conte would need to find around 25 lawmakers in the 630-seat lower house and up to 18 in the 315-seat Senate.

Asked about the possibility that someone from his own Italia Viva party could vote for Conte, as reported by Italian media, Renzi said he "wouldn't be so sure ... I would wait for Tuesday to see how it ends". If Conte loses either vote, President Sergio Mattarella might see whether another government can be formed. Otherwise the president will dissolve parliament and call snap elections.

Analysts said markets would become much more volatile if investors thought the crisis would lead to a snap vote, which polls indicate would likely be won by the opposition centre-right bloc headed by Matteo Salvini's eurosceptic League.