The Draghi government was the 67th government of the Italian Republic, led by former President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi. It was in office between 13 February 2021 and 22 October 2022. The Draghi government was formed following the resignation of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in the midst of a

political crisis Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

which led to the Conte government losing its majority. After consultations with political parties, President Sergio Mattarella tasked Draghi with forming a "high-profile" government. Mattarella stated that the new government would have to face the health, economic and social crises related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as overseeing the EU relief fund associated with it. The Draghi government was described as a national unity government by numerous news sources. The choice by Mattarella to appoint Draghi as Prime Minister was welcomed by some international observers, with others casting doubt on the stability of a new technocratic government. The Draghi Government was formed with both politicians and independent technocrats, and is supported by a large majority of the Italian Parliament, including the anti-establishment

Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...

(M5S), the right-wing League (Lega), the centre-right

Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...

(FI), the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), the centrist Italia Viva (IV), and the leftist Article One (Art.1). On 21 July 2022, following M5S, Lega and FI's withdrawal of their support to the government, Prime Minister Draghi handed his resignation. The government continued to operate as a

caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...

until the next government formation following the

2022 Italian general election The 2022 Italian general election was a snap election held in Italy on 25 September 2022. After the fall of the Draghi government, which led to a parliamentary impasse, President of Italy, President Sergio Mattarella dissolved the parliament on 2 ...

on 25 September.

Supporting parties

Beginning of term

At the time of the government formation, its ministers were part of the following parties.

End of term

Since 1 August 2022 the government is composed of the following parties. On 21 June 2022, Luigi Di Maio led a breakaway group outside of the M5S and formed Together for the Future, which confirmed its support for the government. Mariastella Gelmini, Renato Brunetta and

Mara Carfagna Maria Rosaria "Mara" Carfagna (born 18 December 1975) is an Italian politician and former showgirl and model. After obtaining a degree in law, Carfagna worked for several years on Italian television shows and as a model. She later entered politi ...

left FI on 21, 22 and 26 July, respectively. On 29 July, Gelmini and Carfagna joined Action. On 30 July, Federico D'Incà left the M5S, and on 1 August he founded Environment 2050 alongside deputy Davide Crippa.

History

Background

On 13 January 2021, Italia Viva (IV) withdrew its support for the

second Conte government The second Conte government was the 66th government of the Italian Republic and the second government led by Giuseppe Conte. The government was sworn in on 5 September 2019 to 13 February 2021. The government was supported by the anti-establish ...

, triggering a political crisis. Conte subsequently won confidence motions in both houses of Parliament, with the abstention of IV, but could only reach a

plurality Plurality may refer to: Voting * Plurality (voting), or relative majority, when a given candidate receives more votes than any other but still fewer than half of the total ** Plurality voting, system in which each voter votes for one candidate and ...

in the Senate, rather than an absolute majority. In the wake of this, Conte tendered his resignation to President Mattarella, who then began a round of discussions with various parties to form a new government.

Government formation

Mattarella met with delegations of political parties on 28 and 29 January to determine their views on the formation of a new government. The

(M5S), Democratic Party (PD), Free and Equal (LeU), For the Autonomies,

Europeanists Europeanists ( it, Europeisti) is a political party in Italy. Amid a 2021 Italian government crisis, government crisis triggered after Matteo Renzi announced that he would revoke Italia Viva's support to the Conte II Cabinet, government of Giusepp ...

, and some members of the Mixed Group all expressed support for the reappointment of Conte as Prime Minister, but IV ruled this out. The centre-right and right-wing parties, the League (Lega),

(FI) and the Brothers of Italy (FdI), stated that they preferred a snap election, but would be willing to join a national unity government under certain conditions. Following this deadlock, Mattarella asked Roberto Fico, the

President of the Chamber of Deputies President of the Chamber of Deputies may refer to: * List of presidents of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies * List of presidents of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia * President of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) * President of the Chamber of Dep ...

, to explore the possibility of a

grand coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government. The term is most commonly used in countries where there are t ...

government. On 2 February, Fico confirmed that there was insufficient support for the proposal. Governo Draghi

With the prospect of early elections looming, on 3 February Mattarella invited former ECB President Mario Draghi to the Quirinal Palace to charge him to forming a national unity government. Draghi accepted the offer, and began consultations with the leaders of political parties. Conte publicly endorsed him as his successor the following day, and further negotiations commenced. On 10 February, League leader Matteo Salvini and FI leader Silvio Berlusconi jointly announced their support for Draghi. Conversely, FdI leader Giorgia Meloni stated that her party would go into opposition. The PD's national board unanimously voted on 11 February to support Draghi. The same day, the M5S held an online referendum on whether to "support a technical-political government with the other political forces indicated by the appointed prime minister Mario Draghi", which was approved by 59.3%. Having achieved sufficient support, on 12 February Draghi met with President Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace and presented his list of ministers. The Draghi government was sworn in on the following day, 13 February, at 11:00 AM UTC. The government was composed of twenty-four ministers, eight women and sixteen men, most of them from Northern Italy, largely from

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

and Veneto; it contained representatives from all supportive political parties, as well as numerous independent technocrats.

Investiture vote

On 17 February 2021, the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

approved the Draghi government with 262 votes in favour, 40 against and 2 abstentions. The following day, the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

affirmed its support, with 535 votes in favour, 56 against and 5 abstentions. This was the third largest majority garnered by a government in the history of the Italian Republic after the Monti government and after the fourth Andreotti government.

Government crisis and collapse

In July 2022, the M5S did not participate to a confidence vote in the Senate on a government bill, the so-called ''decreto aiuti'', regarding a €27 billion economic aid to counteract the energy and economy crisis. Prime Minister Draghi offered his resignation, which was rejected by President Mattarella. After a few days, on 20 July, Draghi spoke to the Senate again, seeking a confidence vote again to secure the government majority supporting his cabinet, while rejecting the proposal put forward by Lega and FI on a new government without the M5S. In that occasion, the M5S, Lega and FI, three major parties which were supporting the Draghi government, withdrew their support. Consequently, Draghi tendered his final resignation to President Mattarella, who dissolved the houses of Parliament, leading to an early election in September 2022, and asked Draghi to stay in office to handle current affairs (as is customary in Italian politics) until a new government could be formed following the upcoming general election.

Party breakdown

Beginning of term

Ministers

Ministers and other members

* Independents: Prime minister, 8 ministers, 3 undersecretaries *

(M5S): 4 ministers, 2 deputy ministers, 9 undersecretaries * League (Lega): 3 ministers, 1 deputy minister, 8 undersecretaries * Democratic Party (PD): 3 ministers, 1 deputy minister, 5 undersecretaries *

(FI): 3 ministers, 1 deputy minister, 5 undersecretaries * Italia Viva (IV): 1 minister, 1 deputy minister, 1 undersecretary * Article One (Art.1): 1 minister, 1 undersecretary * Democratic Centre (CD): 1 undersecretary * Us with Italy (NcI): 1 undersecretary * More Europe (+E): 1 undersecretary

End of term

Ministers

Ministers and other members

* Independents: Prime minister, 9 ministers, 2 undersecretaries * League (Lega): 3 ministers, 1 deputy minister, 8 undersecretaries * Democratic Party (PD): 3 ministers, 1 deputy minister, 5 undersecretaries *

(M5S): 2 ministers, 1 deputy minister, 5 undersecretaries * Action (A): 2 ministers * Together for the Future (IpF): 1 minister, 1 deputy minister, 4 undersecretaries * Italia Viva (IV): 1 minister, 1 deputy minister, 1 undersecretary * Article One (Art.1): 1 minister, 1 undersecretary *

Environment 2050 Environment 2050 ( it, Ambiente 2050, A2050) was an environmentalist political party in Italy. Between August and October 2022, it counted five MPs in Italy's lower house, all of whom had been elected as members of the Five Star Movement. Hist ...

(A2050): 1 minister *

(FI): 1 deputy minister, 6 undersecretaries * Democratic Centre (CD): 1 undersecretary * Us with Italy (NcI): 1 undersecretary * More Europe (+E): 1 undersecretary

Geographical breakdown

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

: 18 ministers **

: 9 ministers ** Veneto: 4 ministers ** Emilia-Romagna: 2 ministers **

Friuli-Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...

: 1 minister ** Liguria: 1 minister ** Piedmont: 1 minister * Central Italy: 2 ministers (including Draghi) ** Lazio: 2 ministers (including Draghi) *

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

and Insular Italy: 4 ministers **

Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

: 2 ministers ** Campania: 2 ministers

Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers is composed of the following members:

Composition

References

{{EU governments 2021 establishments in Italy Italian governments Cabinets established in 2021

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

Cabinets disestablished in 2022