News Analysis: Italian gov't faces uncertainty over PM's rejected resignation

ROME, July 15 (Xinhua) -- The coming days look to be clouded with uncertainty for Italy's government, as the country's prime minister tendered his resignation only to have it rejected by the head of state.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi, whose resignation was turned down by President Sergio Mattarella late Thursday, is now expected to address the Italian parliament and garner support next week in what will be a key moment for the government.

Analysts say that the central issue is whether Draghi will continue to have the full support of the populist Five Star Movement, a senior member of the current ruling coalition. The party splintered into two factions in recent weeks, after Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio left with dozens of lawmakers to found a new movement "Together for the Future."

On Thursday, Draghi decided to formally resign after the Five Star Movement boycotted a confidence vote on the government's relief bill to combat soaring prices in the Senate earlier in the day. Prior to the vote, former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, also leader of the Five Star Movement, had warned that the party would pull its support for Draghi if the government does not change policies on a handful of topics including economic and labor reforms and waste management policies.

"These are complicated and challenging times," Salvatore Vassallo, a political scientist at the University of Bologna, told Xinhua. "To some extent, close observers have expected a government crisis for some time. But that does not mean it is easy to predict what will happen."

Vassallo said he does not believe the government will call snap elections. A new vote could shake up the representation of different parties in parliament. Italy is already scheduled to hold a general election in the first half of 2023.

"We have to stay on the lookout because what happens within the Five Star Movement will have reverberations on the overall government's stability," said Francesco Galietti, founder of Policy Sonar, a political risk consultancy.

Draghi has said very clearly that he does not want to be the prime minister of a caretaker government that does not have support from all of its coalition partners, Galietti explained.