Italian PM Conte to address Senate on Aug 20 over government crisis

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will address the Senate on August 20 over the political crisis sweeping the government. The coalition partner of Conte the far-right League filed a no-confidence motion in the administration. In a setback for League leader Matteo Salvini, the Senate voted on August 13 not to hold an immediate no-confidence vote. But instead played for time and decided to allow Conte to speak to the upper house beforehand.

Addressing the Italian Senate, Salvini said he would accept a proposal by ruling coalition partner the 5-Star Movement to cut the number of members of parliament, as long as elections were held immediately afterwards. Rightist parties supported Salvini's request for a debate on Wednesday, but the ruling 5-Star Movement backed by opposition centre-left parliamentarians defeated the bid, thereby seizing the initiative over the timetable of the crisis.