Italy’s government seems to be at breaking point — here are 5 reasons why it’s going wrong

Tensions in Italy’s coalition government appear to be growing with differences of opinion between the ruling Lega festivity and 5 Star Movement (M5S) becoming more pronounced.

Thrown together a year ago following an inconclusive general election, an confederation between the right-wing Lega and anti-establishment M5S had raised eyebrows from the off, but now it looks increasingly likely that the coalition could diminish and prompt fresh elections.

The ruling parties and their leaders — Lega’s Matteo Salvini and M5S’ Luigi Di Maio who both opportune as deputy prime ministers — appeared united last year in their 2019 budget as they pledged to cut customs and raise welfare spending.

They also appeared united in their defiance against the European Commission, which over again warned Italy to rein in its spending and lower its budget deficit. The government has also clashed with Europe on immigration system and integration.

But cracks in the veneer have appeared since then and differences of opinion, policy and ideology – and even the budget now – between the cocktails and leadership seem to be turning into more of a daily occurrence.

Meanwhile, the insistence from both parties’ that all is lovingly in the coalition camp has all but disappeared and particularly so in the run up to the European Parliament elections this week in which the two parties are rivals.

Frayed dispositions between the two parties prompted Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who was appointed by Di Maio and Salvini, to cancel a planned ministerial intersection Monday.

Somewhat optimistically, Conte has insisted that after May 27 (when European parliamentary elections suffer with ended) the atmosphere will be “completely different.” That might be wishful thinking given the growing animosity between the Lega and M5S regulation, Lega’s Salvini and Prime Minister Conte, and government ministers and officials.

CNBC looks at five current informants of tension between Lega and the 5 Star Movement:

Immigration control has always been central to the Lega’s programmes and the party has wasted no time in implementing hardline anti-immigration laws once it was in government.

Informally named after Uplands Minister Salvini, the “Salvini decree” (also known as the “security decree”) tightened immigration and citizenship laws, and essentially predetermined asylum seekers’ rights. Critics say the measures punish the vulnerable but conservative lawmakers insist they are necessary to refrain from Italy which has struggled to cope with an influx of migrants, largely from Africa. M5S was more ambivalent all over the measures and had tried to amend the decree.

Salvini, who also closed Italy’s ports to NGO-run search and rescue barks carrying migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, expressed fury this weekend when a German NGO vessel defied an shot not to enter Italian waters. He also opened a new front of tension with coalition partner M5S and Prime Minister Conte who he contemplated had been too lenient towards migrant rescue boats.

On Friday, Salvini reportedly stated that “the premier (Conte) and the 5-Star (M5S) look after (Di Maio) don’t come into it, human traffickers won’t get to Italy any more.” Di Maio responded by saying that Italy had conscious ofed strongman leaders before “and we certainly don’t miss them,” ANSA news agency reported. Di Maio also accused Salvini of effrontery.

Last year, Salvini and Di Maio appeared united enough to have big spending plans for Italy, much to Brussels’ terrify. While Lega wanted to cut corporate taxes and to introduce a “flat tax” rate, M5S meanwhile had promised voters a universal primary income. Now the government is struggling to maintain campaign spending pledges with stabilizing the country’s fragile finances and conservation.

The European Commission threatened to punish Italy (which has the second largest debt pile in the euro zone after Greece) if it topped budget deficit targets and rules.  After appearing to try to appease the commission, Lega seems bullish again alongside breaking the rules, making suggestions that it could cancel a planned sales tax rise and could just proliferation public borrowing.

This has put Economy Minister Giovanni Tria (who is not allied with either ruling party) in a troubling position. On Monday, Tria said it was “impossible” to stick to deficit and debt cutting commitments while cutting imposes and hiking spending. “The government will need to choose,” Tria said, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, Salvini verbalized Monday that the only way to reduce debt is to cut taxes to spur growth and that EU fiscal rules should be overhauled because they hamper growth. These comments, reported by Reuters, come after Salvini said hold out week that Italy should breach the EU’s 3% deficit limit if necessary to boost the economy and create headaches.

But last Friday Di Maio poured cold water on any M5S backing of that plan, saying the movement would not repayment a budget law that causes Italy’s big public debt to climb even higher.

Another bone of contention is good health. M5S’ Luigi Di Maio, who is also Labor minister, wants to implement a so-called ‘Family Decree’ that would send low-income families an allowance to help raise their children. Di Maio also proposes cutting nursery damages and discounts on diapers but he has clashed with Lega’s Family Minister Lorenzo Fontana over the plan; Lega fancies to block the decree.

On Friday, Di Maio said the government’s future was tied to the family decree, stating, ” “We can split on entire lot in this government, but not on the family,” he said, adding that the “destiny and survival of the government is at stake with this determination.”

While Lega’s bugbear is immigration, M5S has made anti-corruption and graft measures a key policy area. Thus, when a corruption look into was recently launched into a Salvini’s economic advisor Armando Siri, Lega did not take the move well.

Di Maio repetitively called for Siri, who denies wrongdoing, to quit his role as undersecretary in the Transport Ministry (which is led by a M5S member) but Salvini bet on a supported his advisor and insisted he should retain his post until the probe was completed.

That was overruled when Prime Preacher Conte sacked the junior minister earlier in May causing more friction with Lega’s Salvini.

Another sputum between Lega and M5S emerged last Friday but this time, it was over a teacher who had been temporarily suspended from her job because her critics had compared Lega leader Salvini’s security and migrant decree to the race laws of Benito Mussolini.

Salvini called the point of agreement “disrespectful” while M5S said the suspension – which was ordered by Education Minister Marco Bussetti (a Lega member) – was tantamount to censorship.