ROME - Prime Minister designate Mario Draghi on Wednesday embarked on the second day of his second round of consultations in preparation for forming a government. He is due to meet with Confindustria, the representative institution of Italian businesses and services, and other unions and commercial representative organisations, including Greenpeace Italia and Confesercenti.

  Berlusconi, who on Tuesday arrived in Rome to lead his party, Forza Italia, in their discussions with Draghi, has come under fire for flying into the capital having been absent from his many recent court dates. In the last five months the former Prime Minister has has requested eight postponements or authorised absences from four different ongoing trials, all for various corruption charges. Berlusconi, 84, caught covid last autumn and since then has also been victim to various cardiac problems.

  The 5 Star Movement (M5S) on Wednesday cancelled their online vote regarding the party's support for Draghi, which they announced on Tuesday. The vote, to take place on the party’s website, Rousseau, was due to give their 100,000 members the chance to decide, on Wednesday and Thursday, on whether the party vote in support of Draghi and join his coalition. 

  However, after the party leaders’ meeting with the Prime Minister designate on Tuesday, Beppe Grillo, the founder of M5S, has said that he will wait and conduct the vote once Draghi has expressed his plan, and their voters know what to expect. He said, “we talked about the basic citizen’s income and he said it is a great idea. He said we have changed politics in this country with honesty and have made a miracle.” On Draghi’s supposed praise of Grillo, he continued, “if he is pretending or not, if he is sincere or not,” we will see when “he makes the declarations that he has made to us, in public.” 

  Grillo argued that more time is needed before an informed vote can happen. “I ask for your patience,” he concluded in a video to his voters. They also plan to include a vote on the government’s programme.

  After Draghi’s talks with most of the major party’s on Tuesday, Berlusconi reiterated his support for the former President of the ECB, while both Nicola Zingaretti and Matteo Salvini, secretaries of the Democratic Party and the League, have expressed satisfaction with Draghi’s policy proposals. Giorgia Meloni, president of Fratelli d’Italia, has confirmed that her party will be in the opposition.

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