2018 Italian government formation

2018 Italian government formation

Giuseppe Conte at the Quirinal Palace
Date	4 April 2018 – 31 May 2018
Location	Italy
Type	Parliamentary government formation
Cause	2018 Italian general election
Participants	M5S, Lega, FI, PD, FdI, LeU, Aut, Mixed Group
Outcome	Formation of the Conte Cabinet

In the 2018 Italian general election, no political group or party won an outright majority, resulting in a hung parliament.^[1] On 4 March, the centre-right coalition, in which Matteo Salvini's League emerged as the main political force, won a plurality of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and in the Senate, while the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) led by Luigi Di Maio became the party with the largest number of votes. The centre-left coalition, led by Matteo Renzi and the then-governing Democratic Party (PD), came third.^[2] Protracted negotiations were required before a government formation could be ultimated.

On 24 March 2018, following the elections of the presidents of the two houses of the Italian Parliament, Roberto Fico of the M5S, and Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati of Forza Italia (FI), Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni (PD) resigned his post to President Sergio Mattarella. In accordance with common practice in Italy, Mattarella asked the prime minister to remain in office to deal with the current affairs until a new cabinet would have been formed.^[3][4]

On 31 May 2018, following 88 days of negotiations and several impasses, law professor Giuseppe Conte was appointed as the prime minister with support from the LN and the M5S, even though he hadn't run for the Italian Parliament. Matteo Salvini (Lega) and Luigi Di Maio (M5S) were also appointed as vice premiers,^[5] forming the 66th Italian government since World War II.^[6] The formation of a new government avoided the possibility of immediate new elections.^[7]