The Italian political sphere was handed a shock on Thursday morning when Prime Minister Mario Draghi resigned following major coalition allies boycotting a confidence vote.

The Italian PM tendered his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella in the morning, who in turn asked Draghi to remain at his post in an interim capacity. The Italian government, led by Mario Draghi, had urged the right, left and populists to unite in order to see the term out. Draghi had also appealed to the parties to support and corroborate the implementation of the EU funded pandemic recovery program.

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Giuseppe Conte, a leader for Five-Star, had announced on Wednesday that they would not be supporting the motion of confidence, pointing that the government needs to focus on tackling rising social problems as the third biggest economy in the EU. Italy is currently witnessing inflation and a hike in energy prices, similar to that of many countries around the world.

“I have a strong fear that September will be a time when many families will face the terrible choice of paying their electricity bill or buying food,” Conte said.

“We are absolutely willing to dialogue, to make our constructive contribution to the government, to Draghi, (but) we are not willing to write a blank cheque,” he added.

The country is also dealing with reforms, which are vital in order to clinch the rest of the EU’s 200 billion euros of the recovery funds.

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Italy has been facing a political as well as economic crisis for several months now, however, the outgoing PM has worked to increase the financial situation of the country during this time. As markets witnessed an interest rate hike for the first time since 2011, Italian bonds and stocks were sold quickly.

Meanwhile, opinion polls are predicting an almost equal percentage of support for centre left Democratic Party and right wing Brothers of Italy, both of whom have been in stark opposition to Draghi’s alliance and policies.