At midday on Aug. 30, Pope Francis met briefly with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, in an aside of the funeral Mass of Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, whom he remembered with affection.
Matteo Bruni, Director of the Holy See Press Office, reported on the meeting in a press release on Friday afternoon, August 30, 2019.
Conte’s Resignation
Conte tendered his resignation to Italy’s President Sergio Matarella. For 14 months they have led the far-rightists of the League and those of the anti-system of the Five Stars Movement (M5S), a Coalition that was born under suspicion and has left Italy facing its greatest political crisis in recent times.
After 14 months of a Coalition Government made up of the League and the Five Stars Movement, Matteo Salvini, leader of the North League Party, presented a motion of censure against Conte, who finally decided to go.
On Tuesday night, Conte, a consensus figure in the Government of the anti-system Five Stars Movement and the far-right League, although not belonging to either Party, tendered his resignation to Italian President Sergio Mattarella, as he had announced hours earlier when he appeared in the Senate. Mattarella accepted the Prime Minister’s resignation and he will begin a period of consultations today with the different Parties, reported the Head of State.
