ROME — On a scorching afternoon, some of Italy’s most powerful politicians gathered in the shadow of a luxury villa in one of Rome’s most exclusive neighborhoods, sat down to a lunch of swordfish and salad and they conspired to overthrow the government of Mario Draghi.
The host at Villa Grande on Tuesday 19 July was Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire former Italian prime minister who leads the centre-right Forza Italia party. Next to him was Matteo Salvini of the far-right League, with representatives of other groups, and his aides.
The next day, she urged the conspirators to get going by phone as talks extend into the next day, opposition leader Giorgia Meloni, who is now in prime position to become the next prime minister of Italy in an early election this fall.
Within 24 hours, Draghi’s fate was sealed. The conspirators had withdrawn their support from their grand coalition and the prime minister had nowhere to go but to the presidential palace, where he resigned on Thursday morning.
Italy now faces months of turmoil. It will likely be several weeks after the September 25 election before a new coalition can be formed.
Italy’s political crisis is also a problem for the European Union. The central bank is trying to stave off an imminent recession, while balancing the need to curb inflation with the risks of a new debt crisis.
ELECTIONS OF THE NATIONAL PARLIAMENT OF ITALY SURVEY OF SURVEYS
For more polling data from across Europe, visit POLITICO Poll of Polls.
As the war continues in Ukraine and energy supplies dwindle, some in Italian politics are now wondering if the right-wing really know what they have done.
For Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, the coalition parties “were playing with the future of the Italian people. The effects of this tragic election will remain in our history,” he said.
Draghi’s crisis began a week earlier. After months of growing tension within the coalition, the populist 5 Star Movement refused to back him in a key confidence vote on a €26 billion aid package to ease the cost of living.
Draghi responded by offering to resign, but President Sergio Mattarella asked him to try to win over his critics. He agreed and scheduled a new vote of confidence in parliament for July 20.
The day before the vote, Berlusconi invited his allies to a meeting to discuss tactics over lunch.
Movie stars and fashionistas
The Appian Way is Rome’s most glamorous address, a historic road full of monuments and catacombs that leads out of the capital towards the far reaches of the ancient empire. Famous residents of the area include movie stars such as Gina Lollobrigida and Valentino, the 90-year-old fashion designer.
It was here, in his five-bedroom Villa Grande — which he bought 20 years ago and later let to the late director Franco Zeffirelli — that Berlusconi gathered his colleagues for talks.
Accompanied by his 32-year-old girlfriend, Marta Fascina, the 85-year-old billionaire welcomed the guests to his terrace and started the discussions.
According to Berlusconi himself, the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the “very worrying and inexplicable behavior of the 5Star movement”, which triggered the crisis last week.
But another agenda quickly gained traction: the need to topple Draghi’s coalition and trigger early elections. A person who was at the meeting said Salvini was the most openly pushing for the right to move closer to the election.
But Berlusconi was clearly of the same mind, the person said. He produced several pages of notes, with an electoral program of 20 points. “It included plans for tax reform, justice and pensions,” the person said. “This meeting was the first step in the electoral campaign.”
It was uncomfortably hot. Guests sat and sweated on the terrace, overlooking the aloe vera gardens and Mediterranean pines. The lunch concluded with portions of frozen yogurt – apparently Berlusconi is on a health drive – and a plate of frustration. Those on the right were upset that Draghi had chosen to meet with the leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, Enrico Letta, that morning while ignoring them.
Silvio Berlusconi’s girlfriend, Marta Fascina | Piero Cruciatti/AFP via Getty Images
They have talked about the need to review welfare payments, tackle illegal immigration, a tax amnesty and investments in nuclear power. It looked like a program for a new government.
After six hours, Berlusconi decided it was time to call the Prime Minister himself. The right was clear about what they needed: a radical change in the direction of the Draghi administration, without the 5 Star Movement on board.
Berlusconi stayed at home while his Forza Italia colleague Antonio Tajani and Salvini went to Draghi’s residence for the 19:45 showdown. They demanded a reshaping and a review of the government’s agenda.
It didn’t go well. When Salvini and Tajani left, it was clear to Draghi that the next day would be a difficult day.
The rightists returned to Villa Grande and the talks continued late into the night, only to finally break down at 12:30 am.
The end
Wednesday dawned and it was time for Draghi’s decision. According to people familiar with his thinking, he believed he simply could not afford to compromise.
As the unelected leader of a government of national unity, chosen by the president to help lead the country out of the pandemic last year, Draghi felt he had no mandate to devote himself to political settlement. If he gave in to a set of demands for concessions from the right, it would be the start of horse-trading that would never end, he thought.
So it was an angry prime minister who took his message to parliament. After refusing to meet the demands of the right, Draghi was told that Forza Italia, La Liga and 5Stars would not support him in the crucial confidence vote he had called.
Berlusconi’s allies returned to Villa Grande after Draghi’s speech. Meloni, the 45-year-old leader of the opposition Brothers of Italy party, called repeatedly for talks with Salvini. She was pushing for her fellow leaders to pull out of Draghi’s coalition and trigger an election.
On Wednesday evening, the vote finally came. Draghi won but had lost the support of the right and 5Stars. Salvini then returned to Berlusconi’s villa for what was clearly a celebratory dinner.
Still, despite his victory, the right now worries that he is also to blame for bringing down Draghi in order to trigger a vote that polls suggested he would win. Draghi was a popular prime minister who had been urged by world leaders and thousands of ordinary Italians to stay.
Spokesmen for both Forza Italia and the League denied they had plotted to oust Draghi, insisting they only wanted him to lead a new government.
League party leader Matteo Salvini and Brothers of Italy (FdI) party leader Giorgia Meloni | Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images
A League insider said the party did not make the decision to withdraw until after Draghi’s “very tough” speech which he delivered “without concessions” on Thursday. “It certainly influenced the decision,” the person said. “We wanted to stay in government, but not at any price.”
As for Draghi, he is apparently reconciled to his fate, according to a person familiar with the matter. He will spend the next few months leading an interim administration until a new government is formed. After plots and ultimatums, and poached fish lunches, the man named Super Mario is said to be “serene.”
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