Italy's Salvini Faces Pressure to Force Early Election

Source: Bloomberg

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini is facing pressure to force an early election this year from lieutenants frustrated by dealing with an unruly coalition partner.

Several senior members of Salvini’s League are urging their chief to capitalize on a growing lead in opinion polls to ditch the anti-establishment Five Star Movement which is hampering their efforts to deliver on election promises, according to a League government member and a senior party official who asked not to be named discussing confidential deliberations.

Cabinet Undersecretary Giancarlo Giorgetti, a party strategist who is close to Salvini, has repeatedly voiced his frustration, the party official said.

Giorgetti told League lawmakers he spends more time sorting out problems created by Five Star than getting their measures through and is constantly managing crises, according to the official. Giorgetti’s office and a League spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment on the remarks.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-29/italy-s-salvini-is-said-to-face-pressure-to-force-early-election