The second Conte government was the 66th government of the
Italian Republic
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and the second government led by
Giuseppe Conte
Giuseppe Conte (; born 8 August 1964) is an Italian jurist, academic, and politician who served as prime minister of Italy from June 2018 to February 2021. He has been the president of the Five Star Movement (M5S) since August 2021.
Conte ...
.
The government was sworn in on 5 September 2019 to 13 February 2021.
The government was supported by the anti-establishment
Five Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-left
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
(PD), along with the leftist parliamentary group
Free and Equal (LeU). On 17 September 2019 the centrist party
Italia Viva
Italia Viva (, IV) is a liberal political party in Italy founded in September 2019. The party is led by Matteo Renzi, a former Prime Minister of Italy and former secretary of the Democratic Party (PD).
History Background
Matteo Renzi sta ...
(IV), which splintered from the PD on that day, announced its support for the coalition, as well.
The government has been referred to as the "yellow-red government" (), based on the customary colours of the main supporting parties.
The second Conte government had the lowest average age of its members in the history of the Italian Republic.
On 13 January 2021, after weeks of disagreements within the government coalition, the two ministers of IV resigned from their posts. Having lost the full support of one of the parties forming the government, Prime Minister Conte resigned on 26 January 2021.
Supporting parties
Beginning of term
At the time of the government formation, its ministers and other members were part of the following three parties.
The government also obtained the support of the
Associative Movement Italians Abroad
The Associative Movement of Italians Abroad ( it, Movimento Associativo Italiani all'Estero, MAIE) is an Italian political party representing Italians abroad. Based in Argentina and active mainly in South America, the MAIE is a centrist party.
Hi ...
(MAIE), and one of its senators,
Ricardo Merlo
Ricardo Antonio Merlo (born 25 May 1962 in Buenos Aires) is an Italian politician, leader of the Associative Movement Italians Abroad. Born and resident in Argentina, he acquired Italian citizenship through Jus sanguinis.
Biography
Graduated i ...
, was appointed as undersecretary in the government. The government received also the external support of the following minor parties:
Popular Civic List (CP), the
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Socialism, socialist and later Social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the l ...
(PSI),
Italia in Comune
Italia in Comune (IiC, English: ''Italy in Common'') is a green and progressive political party in Italy. It was founded in April 2018 by mayor of Parma Federico Pizzarotti, other former members of the Five Star Movement and local non-party in ...
(IiC), the
South Tyrolean People's Party
The South Tyrolean People's Party (german: Südtiroler Volkspartei, SVP) is a regionalist and autonomist political party in South Tyrol, an autonomous province with a German-speaking majority in northern Italy.
Founded on 8 May 1945, the SVP h ...
(SVP) and the
Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Party
The Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Party ( it, Partito Autonomista Trentino Tirolese, PATT) is a regionalist, autonomist, Christian-democratic and centrist political party in Trentino, Italy.
The PATT is the unofficial counterpart of the South ...
(PATT).
2019–2021
From 18 September 2019 to 13 January 2021, the government ministers and other members were from the following four parties.
On 17 September 2020 former Prime Minister
Matteo Renzi
Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...
led a breakaway group outside the PD and formed
Italia Viva
Italia Viva (, IV) is a liberal political party in Italy founded in September 2019. The party is led by Matteo Renzi, a former Prime Minister of Italy and former secretary of the Democratic Party (PD).
History Background
Matteo Renzi sta ...
, which confirmed its support to the government.
End of term
At the time of its resignation, the government ministers and other members were from the following three parties.
On 13 January 2021 former Prime Minister
Matteo Renzi
Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...
announced the withdrawal of his party’s support to the government.
History
Background
After the
2018 general election the
Five Star Movement (M5S), which had come first in the election, and the
League
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
agreed to form a coalition government led by
Giuseppe Conte
Giuseppe Conte (; born 8 August 1964) is an Italian jurist, academic, and politician who served as prime minister of Italy from June 2018 to February 2021. He has been the president of the Five Star Movement (M5S) since August 2021.
Conte ...
, the
first Conte government.
In August 2019,
Matteo Salvini
Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been Federal Secretary of Italy's Lega Nord (Northern League) party s ...
, Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the League, announced a motion of no confidence against the government, after growing tensions within the majority. Salvini's move came right after a vote in the Senate regarding the progress of the
Turin–Lyon high-speed railway
The Turin–Lyon high-speed railway is an international rail line under construction between the cities of Turin and Lyon. It is intended to link the Italian and French high-speed rail networks and will be long.
The core of the project is it ...
, in which the League, along with the largest opposition parties, voted against an attempt of the M5S to block the construction works. Many political analysts believe the no confidence motion was an attempt to force early elections to improve his party's standing in Parliament, due to its increasing support in
opinion polls
An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...
, ensuring Salvini could become the next Prime Minister. On 20 August, following the parliamentary debate in which Conte harshly accused Salvini of being a political opportunist who "had triggered the political crisis only to serve his personal interest",
the Prime Minister tendered his resignation to President
Sergio Mattarella
Sergio Mattarella (; born 23 July 1941) is an Italian politician, jurist, academic and lawyer who has served as the president of Italy since 2015.
A Christian leftist politician, Mattarella was a leading member of the Christian Democracy par ...
.
Government formation
On 21 August, Mattarella started consultations with parliamentary groups. On the same day, the national board of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
(PD) officially and unanimously opened to the prospect of a government with the M5S,
based on pro-Europeanism,
green economy,
sustainable development, fight against
economic inequality
There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of ...
and a new immigration policy. However, the talks resulted in a unclear outcome, the President announced a second round of consultations starting on 27 August.
Negotiations between PD and M5S started, while
Free and Equal (LeU), a left-wing parliamentary group, announced its support too. On 28 August, PD's leader
Nicola Zingaretti
Nicola Zingaretti (; born 11 October 1965) is an Italian politician who served as President of Lazio and was Secretary of the Democratic Party from March 2019 until March 2021.
During the 1990s, he was a prominent European youth leader, serv ...
announced at the
Quirinal Palace
The Quirinal Palace ( it, Palazzo del Quirinale ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, one of the three current official residences of the president of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporzia ...
his favourable position on forming a new government with the Five Stars with Conte at its head. On same day, Mattarella summoned Conte to the Quirinal Palace for 29 August to give him the task of forming a new government. On 3 September, M5S members voted through the so-called "Rousseau Platform" in favor of an agreement with the PD, with Conte Prime Minister, with more than 79% of the vote out of nearly 80,000 voters.
On 4 September Conte announced the ministers of this new government, which was sworn in on the following day. At its start, the government was composed of 21 ministers, 14 men and 7 women, a majority of whom were from
Southern Italy.
Investiture votes
On 9 September 2019 the Chamber of Deputies approved the government with 343 votes in favour, 263 against and 3 abstentions. On the following day the Senate followed suit, with 169 in favour, 133 against and 5 abstentions.
Italia Viva and M5S crises
In September 2019 former Prime Minister
Matteo Renzi
Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...
lead a split from the PD, and formed a party called
Italia Viva
Italia Viva (, IV) is a liberal political party in Italy founded in September 2019. The party is led by Matteo Renzi, a former Prime Minister of Italy and former secretary of the Democratic Party (PD).
History Background
Matteo Renzi sta ...
. The new party had two ministers (
Teresa Bellanova and
Elena Bonetti) and one undersecretary, and kept its support for the Conte II government.
In December 2019 the Minister of Education and Research,
Lorenzo Fioramonti, resigned after disagreements with the rest of the cabinet regarding the recently approved 2020 budget bill. Fioramonti considered the share of funds dedicated to education and research to be insufficient. For the designation of the new Minister, Prime Minister Conte decided to split the Ministry of Education, University and Research into two. The Ministry of Public Education went to the former undersecretary
Lucia Azzolina (M5S), whereas the Ministry of University and Research went to the dean of the
University of Naples Federico II
The University of Naples Federico II ( it, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) is a public university in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1224, it is the oldest public non-sectarian university in the world, and is now organized into 26 depar ...
,
Gaetano Manfredi
Gaetano Manfredi ( Ottaviano, 4 January 1964) is an Italian university professor and politician. He has been mayor of Naples since 2021, and has served as the Minister of University and Research in the second government of Giuseppe Conte from ...
(Ind).
In January 2020, the Five Star Movement suffered multiple parliamentary defections and a sizeable decrease in popularity with respect to the 2018 elections.
Luigi Di Maio
Luigi Di Maio (; born 6 July 1986) is an Italian former stadium beverage vendor and politician. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2022, as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Economic Development, Labour and So ...
resigned from his position as M5S political leader, retaining his position as foreign minister.
Coronavirus outbreak
In February 2020, the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
was confirmed to have
spread to northern Italian regions. In a few weeks, it spread to the rest of the country, with major concentration of cases in the regions of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont and Veneto. The government faced the subsequent health crisis by imposing gradually stricter measures of social distancing and quarantine, until a
nationwide lockdown was imposed on 9 March, restricting the movement of people except for reasons of necessity, health, or work.
January 2021 political crisis
On 13 January 2021, after weeks of disagreements between IV and the rest of the government regarding the handling of the
Next Generation EU
Next Generation EU (NGEU, also called the European Union Recovery Instrument) is a European Union (EU) economic recovery package to support the EU member states to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular those that have been particul ...
funds, all three cabinet members of IV (Minister of Agriculture
Teresa Bellanova, Minister of Family
Elena Bonetti and Undersecretary for Economy
Ivan Scalfarotto) resigned from their posts.
Having lost the full support of one of the parties forming the government, Prime Minister Conte narrowly won a confidence vote at the Senate with a 156–140 tally, including 16 abstension votes from the IV senators, falling short of the absolute majority of 161 votes.
Due to that, and unable to find enough votes in Parliament to move ahead with the current government, on 26 January 2021 Conte tended his resignations to President
Sergio Mattarella
Sergio Mattarella (; born 23 July 1941) is an Italian politician, jurist, academic and lawyer who has served as the president of Italy since 2015.
A Christian leftist politician, Mattarella was a leading member of the Christian Democracy par ...
, who asked him to stay in office to handle current affairs (as is customary in Italian politics).
Party breakdown
Beginning of term
Ministers
Ministers and other members
*
Five Star Movement (M5S): 9 ministers, 6 deputy ministers, 16 undersecretaries
*
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
(PD): 9 ministers, 4 deputy ministers, 14 undersecretaries
*
Free and Equal (LeU): 1 ministers, 2 undersecretaries
**
Article One (Art.1): 1 minister, 1 undersecretary
**
Italian Left
Italian Left ( it, Sinistra Italiana, SI) is a left-wing political party in Italy. SI was launched in November 2015 as a parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies (full name: Italian Left – Left Ecology Freedom), including Left Ecology ...
(SI): 1 undersecretary
*
Associative Movement Italians Abroad
The Associative Movement of Italians Abroad ( it, Movimento Associativo Italiani all'Estero, MAIE) is an Italian political party representing Italians abroad. Based in Argentina and active mainly in South America, the MAIE is a centrist party.
Hi ...
(MAIE): 1 undersecretary
*
Independents: Prime minister, 2 ministers
2019–2021
Ministers
Ministers and other members
*
Five Star Movement (M5S): 9 ministers, 6 deputy ministers, 15 undersecretaries
*
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
(PD): 7 ministers, 4 deputy ministers, 13 undersecretaries
*
Italia Viva
Italia Viva (, IV) is a liberal political party in Italy founded in September 2019. The party is led by Matteo Renzi, a former Prime Minister of Italy and former secretary of the Democratic Party (PD).
History Background
Matteo Renzi sta ...
(IV): 2 ministers, 1 undersecretary
*
Free and Equal (LeU): 1 ministers, 2 undersecretaries
**
Article One (Art.1): 1 minister, 1 undersecretary
**
Italian Left
Italian Left ( it, Sinistra Italiana, SI) is a left-wing political party in Italy. SI was launched in November 2015 as a parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies (full name: Italian Left – Left Ecology Freedom), including Left Ecology ...
(SI): 1 undersecretary
*
Associative Movement Italians Abroad
The Associative Movement of Italians Abroad ( it, Movimento Associativo Italiani all'Estero, MAIE) is an Italian political party representing Italians abroad. Based in Argentina and active mainly in South America, the MAIE is a centrist party.
Hi ...
(MAIE): 1 undersecretary
*
Independents: Prime minister, 3 ministers
End of term
Ministers
Ministers and other members
*
Five Star Movement (M5S): 9 ministers, 6 deputy ministers, 15 undersecretaries
*
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
(PD): 7 ministers, 4 deputy ministers, 13 undersecretaries
*
Free and Equal (LeU): 1 minister, 2 undersecretaries
**
Article One (Art.1): 1 minister, 1 undersecretary
**
Italian Left
Italian Left ( it, Sinistra Italiana, SI) is a left-wing political party in Italy. SI was launched in November 2015 as a parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies (full name: Italian Left – Left Ecology Freedom), including Left Ecology ...
(SI): 1 undersecretary
*
Associative Movement Italians Abroad
The Associative Movement of Italians Abroad ( it, Movimento Associativo Italiani all'Estero, MAIE) is an Italian political party representing Italians abroad. Based in Argentina and active mainly in South America, the MAIE is a centrist party.
Hi ...
(MAIE): 1 undersecretary
*
Independents: Prime minister, 3 ministers, 1 undersecretary
Geographical breakdown
Beginning of term
*
Northern Italy: 8 ministers
**
Emilia-Romagna
egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title ...
: 2 ministers
**
Lombardy: 2 ministers
**
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
: 2 ministers
**
Friuli-Venezia Giulia: 1 minister
**
Veneto
it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 = ...
: 1 minister
*
Central Italy
Central Italy ( it, Italia centrale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region, and a European Parliament constituency.
Regions
Central I ...
: 2 ministers
**
Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
: 2 ministers
*
Southern and
Insular Italy
Insular Italy ( it, Italia insulare or just , meaning "islands") is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency ...
: 12 ministers (including Conte)
**
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demog ...
: 4 ministers
**
Apulia: 3 ministers (including Conte)
**
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
: 3 ministers
**
Basilicata: 2 ministers
2019–2021
*
Northern Italy: 8 ministers
**
Emilia-Romagna
egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title ...
: 2 ministers
**
Lombardy: 2 ministers
**
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
: 2 ministers
**
Friuli-Venezia Giulia: 1 minister
**
Veneto
it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 = ...
: 1 minister
*
Central Italy
Central Italy ( it, Italia centrale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region, and a European Parliament constituency.
Regions
Central I ...
: 1 minister
**
Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
: 1 minister
*
Southern and
Insular Italy
Insular Italy ( it, Italia insulare or just , meaning "islands") is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency ...
: 14 ministers (including Conte)
**
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demog ...
: 5 ministers
**
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
: 4 ministers
**
Apulia: 3 ministers (including Conte)
**
Basilicata: 2 ministers
End of term
*
Northern Italy: 6 ministers
**
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
: 2 ministers
**
Emilia-Romagna
egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title ...
: 1 minister
**
Friuli-Venezia Giulia: 1 minister
**
Lombardy: 1 minister
**
Veneto
it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 = ...
: 1 minister
*
Central Italy
Central Italy ( it, Italia centrale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region, and a European Parliament constituency.
Regions
Central I ...
: 1 minister
**
Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
: 1 minister
*
Southern and
Insular Italy
Insular Italy ( it, Italia insulare or just , meaning "islands") is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency ...
: 14 ministers (including Conte)
**
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demog ...
: 5 ministers
**
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
: 4 ministers
**
Apulia: 3 ministers (including Conte)
**
Basilicata: 2 ministers
Council of Ministers
The
Council of Ministers
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
was composed of the following members:
Composition
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabinet, Conte
2019 establishments in Italy
Italian governments
Cabinets established in 2019
Giuseppe Conte