Nevertheless, such a political crisis is not new to the country. Italy has always been at the centre of political turmoil for decades. It is quite evident with the fact that the country has seen about 60 governments since WWII. Conte and Renzi’s drift has been known to the public for a long time, and hesitation escalating was very much anticipated. So far, the drift was kept at bay by this centre-left coalition due to the coronavirus emergency. However, the pandemic situation has also now escalated, and it seems that it outlasted the political goodwill. [2]

Why Did the Problem in Italian Politics Start?

The reason for this drift started due to the approach of Conte and Renzi concerning financial matters. [3] Back in 2020, the GDP of Italy slumped by about 10% due to COVID-19. [4] Adding on to that, was a stimulus package that was given by the European Union (EU) worth €750 billion that was allocated to several EU nations. In July 2020, Italy was allowed to get the lion share of the EU stimulus package, amounting to over €200 billion (about $243 billion) in a grant and low-interest loans. [5] Because of such loans, Italy is now the second most debt-ridden economy after Greece. [6]

For weeks, Matteo Renzi had criticized the plan laid out by Conte to use the EU funds to use these handout purposes and less on serving the health needs. Even when the plan was improved on Tuesday night as per the request, Matteo Renzi was still not satisfied. Finally, the usage of €200 billion worth of that package was approved during the night of about 12th and 13th January 2021 by the lawmakers. However, the lawmakers of the Italia Viva abstained from voting on it. Also, two members of resigned including Elena Bonetti, the former minister for family and equal opportunities.  Both Conte and Renzi have a different opinion on how this recovery money given by the European Union should be used.

It increased the difference between Renzi and Conte, as the issue became a matter of political vote bank and both the centrists are competing for the same voters. [7]

Matteo Renzi’s move has been met with a mixed response, ranging from anger to confusion to chaos. One opinion poll even suggested about 70% of the Italians feel that this move by Renzi is not due to the difference of opinion, but rather for his political gain. Some experts also state that this move by Renzi may be due to him being side-lined by the coalition in recent times. [8] So, Renzi was doing nothing but using this opportunity to improvise on his political gains.

However, on Wednesday, Renzi argued in a news conference that dealing with the pandemic also meant “solving problems, not concealing them,” He has taken issue with Conte’s strategy for rebuilding Italy’s tattered economy.

Nonetheless, it cannot be denied that Matteo Renzi is a very well-known political figure in Italian politics and holds an even more crucial role in the current government headed by Giuseppe Conte.

Why Renzi Is Crucial to the Italian Government?

Italia Viva was formed by Matteo Renzi in September 2019, after he quit the centre-left Democratic Party. After the populist right-wing League Party’s departure, Renzi and his party played a significant role in forming the coalition government by Conte. The coalition government comprises the centre-left Democratic Party, Five Star Movement (MS5) and the left-leaning parliamentary group called Free and Equal.

According to recent polls, even though Renzi has only 3% public support, his party Italia Viva has 30 lawmakers in the lower house and 18 lawmakers in the upper house, thereby making them a junior coalition partner.

Way Ahead

Renzi had elected as the Prime Minister in 2014. So, he understands how the situation prevails while on that post and how politics needs to be done to rule the state. Not only that, but he also has been known for mediating conflicts among parties having varied political inclination- ensuring that the far-right parties are out of power by making sure that a coalition is created between populist and centre-left parties. 

With the decision of Renzi, there are only a few alternative options that can be viable for moving ahead in this situation. First, that Conte and Renzi come to a compromise by keeping the current coalition government. In other words, without escalating the situation, Conte needs to convince Renzi to support the government. It is still possible as Renzi is still. However, if this does not happen, the country would be on the brink of losing a government in the middle of a pandemic. Alternatively, the Conte government can go through a no-confidence motion. If he loses, the situation of Conte’s government will be like Schrödinger’s cat. In other words, Conte would only be left as the caretaker of the government, and he would also not have much power over Renzi. However, a coalition is still possible. After all, with a lack of public support, Renzi would not want to put his 48 lawmaker seats at risk. Nonetheless, if this not, the situation may move ahead in a different path.

Second, if the coalition government does not move ahead, then considering the pandemic, a government of national unity will be sought to be created by President Sergio Mattarella.

Third, the country could go ahead with the national vote. It would mean that the country may end up going into an election right in the middle of the pandemic. In case of an election, either Conte would win the third term as the Prime Minister, or the far-right wing parties would form the government. The far-right in Italian politics comprises of the League Party and the Brothers of Italy. They have been gaining support for the past few years and hold about 40% of the electoral vote. So, in case an election happens and the far-right wins, then there Italy will have the most anti-European government in Western Europe. [9]

In this way, one can state that Italy is currently in such a political situation that it will not be suitable for the nation if escalated. [10] Hence, sorting out the differences is the best possible way out of this situation.

References:

[1] Italy – COVID-19 Overview – Johns Hopkins. coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/italy

[2] Harlan, Chico. “Italy’s Government Falls into Chaos, Further Complicating the Covid Response.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 13 Jan. 2021, www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/italy-government-renzi-conte/2021/01/13/dd65f6bc-55c6-11eb-acc5-92d2819a1ccb_story.html.

[3] Roberts, Hannah. “Italy’s Coalition Fights for Control of EU Recovery Cash.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 5 Jan. 2021, www.politico.eu/article/matteo-renzi-giuseppe-conte-coalition-government-recovery-fund-cash-coronavirus/.

[4] Amaro, Silvia, and Sam Meredith. “Italy’s Government in Crisis after Former PM Pulls Support for Ruling Coalition.” CNBC, CNBC, 13 Jan. 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/01/13/renzi-italys-government-in-crisis-after-former-pm-pulls-support.html.

[5] Speak, Clare. “How Italy Plans to Spend €209 Billion of EU Money.” Thelocal.it, 17 Sept. 2020, www.thelocal.it/20200917/more-growth-lower-tax-for-families-italy-sets-out-plan-for-spending-eu-recovery-fund.

[6] Samuelson, Robert. “Opinion | Why Italy’s Debt Matters for Everybody.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 24 May 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-italys-debt-matters-for-everybody/2020/05/24/12b2f310-9baf-11ea-ac72-3841fcc9b35f_story.html.

[7] Roberts, Hannah. “Italy’s Coalition Fights for Control of EU Recovery Cash.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 5 Jan. 2021, www.politico.eu/article/matteo-renzi-giuseppe-conte-coalition-government-recovery-fund-cash-coronavirus/.

[8] Bozza, Claudio. “Sondaggio: Crisi Di Governo Incomprensibile per Un Italiano Su 2. E per Il 73% Renzi Persegue i Suoi Interessi.” Corriere Della Sera, Corriere Della Sera, 13 Jan. 2021, www.corriere.it/politica/21_gennaio_13/crisi-governo-italiano-due-non-capisce-motivi-il-73percento-renzi-persegue-suoi-interessi-59b0ac42-5515-11eb-89b9-d85a626b049f.shtml.

[9] Zampano, Giada. “Giorgia Meloni Is Rising Star on Italy’s Far-Right Stage.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 18 Oct. 2019, apnews.com/article/fa37b62daab246f2a9ccb0887284aaee.

[10] “Italy’s Government in Crisis after Junior Coalition Partner Quits.” Euronews, 13 Jan. 2021, www.euronews.com/2021/01/13/italy-s-government-close-to-collapse-amid-row-over-covid-recovery-cash.

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Let’s travel back to the past, what is actually Brexit is and why it’s catching the whole news at once. United Kingdom joining EEC (European economic community) in 1973 as a  predecessor to the European Union brings a lot of spilt. The Guardian wrote in an editorial on January 1, 1973 “ The journey into Europe will be bumpy and discordant.

A Quick Glimpse Into the Past Events Which Led to Brexit

During the WW1 and WW2, the European countries were also going through some conflicts in between them, slowly those conflicts turned out to be bloody wars. Simply, to rescue the neighbouring countries of Europe, EU comes into power with its founding members Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. European Union was originally the European Economic Community (EEC) created by the treaty of Paris in 1957. The United Kingdom joined in 1973. The main purpose of the European Union was to form a single European political entity and maintain a peaceful balance between all member countries with four basic freedoms regarding the transportation of goods, trade between member countries, common currency and free movement of people. In simpler terms, the EU consists of a group of European countries that acts as a single economic unit in the world economy.  EU provides a peaceful balance to the countries and help to make a stronger economy of each country and offers opportunities to rely on each other. However, the EU also strictly maintains some rules and regulation on these member countries.

When it comes to the UK leaving EU, there’s a lot of news going on. To cover the huge topic in a go, the understanding of UK and EU is a long but bumpy journey and is much important. The United Kingdom joined the EU for the better economic and peaceful life of the citizen. After two years of UK joining EU brings a debate around into two parties, one section of the UK were not really happy with the UK’s relationship with the EU.  According to that section of society, the EU has been a toxic issue in British politics. They always fear that the EU may hamper the sovereignty of the UK and also can bring fundamental conflict. Britain’s future with the EU had no luck, that was strongly believed by a larger section of society, also many citizens and politician were not happy with the rules and regulation imposed by the EU. Although the other half who were not very happy with the freedom that comes other Britain’s exit of EU, the youth of Britain is torn between their idea of what Britain could be and the reality of what it is. So to make a decision and end the debate and protest between the two parties of The United Kingdom, a referendum took place in 2016. On 23 June 2016, British citizens were called to cast their vote on the subject of the UK’s membership in the European Union that had a remarkable turnout of 72 per cent of the total electoral voted YES to the Brexit.

Xmas with Brexit Trade Deal

For the British and European Parliaments to ratify a trade agreement in an orderly fashion before the Brexit transition period expires on New Year’s Eve. The UK insists that it should trade with the bloc with as few restraints as possible. The EU demands that Britain stick to EU rules to ensure fair competition.

After the long discussions, talks and conference call about 90 minutes between the prime minister Boris Johnson and the president Ursula von der Leyen, with the spirit of Christmas 2020, EU and UK comes to finalize their situation with ‘a lose-lose situation’ the deal is about signed in December 31st 2020.  The  EU’S chief negotiator Michel Barnier express regret saying there is no winner in Brexit. Ursula has said, “parting is always bitter and sweet, after successful negotiation journey throughout Brexit, the deal has been made in the Xmas eve, I feel satisfaction and relief.” A bittersweet moment has emerged in the air of the UK. Although the youth are not happy with the whole idea of Brexit but the deal has been made which is better then no deal, if the deal did not happen the situation in the UK will be worst. The deal prevented some worst situation for the United Kingdom. So after this long time with lots of news, protest and discussion, along with the deal made, the UK has become a completely unchartered territory. Britain is free from the EU, and the European Union has lost a member from its union.  A lot of compromise from both sides made possible the Brexit trade deal.

The deal that has made between the UK and EU stated that European boat will still drop nets in British water, giving up only 25% of their catch quotas as fishing becomes the most important part of the economy of both also the Brexit trade deal.  Due to the Brexit deal, the EU is going to reduce quota as EU vessels can get in and the UK can go back. No tariffs or quotas on the movement of goods tariff-free or free trade as there are non-tariff barriers lots of from filling. So there will be no tariffs and quotas but some bureaucratic barriers to trade. There’s quite more stuff including the UK going to stay in certain EU’s programs, free movements of person will be removed along with goods and services, also the Brexit deal does not provide financial equivalence to UK’s economy. After all this there will be a partnership council is going to take over.

After the Brexit deal the leaders of both UK and EU on the positive side of maintaining the strong relationship between the both UK and EU, also looking forward to more stability and certainty towards a new beginning with a new security and trade deal post Brexit, which runs to 2,000 pages. 

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These attacks set in motion a chain of action. Minister of Interior Gérald Darmanin announced the elimination of people who spread hate through the internet. Baraka City which is a humanitarian NGO has been dissolved by the government because it took pleasure in such terror attacks. The government has additionally, threatened to ban Le Collectif Contre l’islamophobie en France, a nonprofit organization that claims to combats anti-Muslim racism: According to Mr Darmanin, the C.C.I.F.’s work is against the Republic of France.

After the attacks, Macron spoke in favour of Mr Paty by reaffirming the right to free speech, including the right to satire and blasphemes. President Emmanuel Macron believes that Mr Paty was killed for embodying the French Republic and vowed to hold “laïcité” up high. This has angered Muslims not only in France but all around the world. Thousands of people in Pakistan, Lebanon, and other Palestinian territories entered into a fury after Macron vowed to protect the right to caricature the Prophet Mohammad. The decision of the Charlie Hebdo magazine to republish the cartoon caricature has also been seen as an act of violence against Muslims. A crowd in Bangladesh was seen burning an effigy of Macron, while a rally in Pakistan resorted to throwing stones at the police who were trying to control the angry mob. France itself remains on edge after the attacks and Macron ordered 7000 soldiers to guard the schools and religious sites. Macron’s latest speech in favour of the caricature has skewered relations between Turkey and France further. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused Macron of Islamophobia and went ahead to question his mental health. Erdoğan has since then called on Muslim countries to boycotts all French goods.

Dalia Mogahed, a former advisor on faith for former US President Barrack Obama, now a research director of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding claimed that the President of France was wrong to support a cartoon caricature that “pits freedom of speech against blasphemy”. She said that the cartoons clearly showed how the country is suffering from Islamophobia. She said, “They are the equivalent of the N-word. They are equivalent of blackface. They are racial slur.” The cartoons “target a vulnerable, marginalized, disempowered and demonized community by a powerful institution, which is then further demonized, sometimes by the state, for protesting those slurs.”  

Before the attacks took place, Emmanuel Macron had spoken about the new government plans to combat separatism. In his Republic in Action: Speech, he differentiates between Islam and Islamic terrorism. He said, “Let’s not fall into the trap of conflating issues, set by polemicists and extremists, which consists in denouncing all Muslims. That trap is what the enemies of the Republic set us; it consists of making all citizens of the Muslim faith objective allies because they are supposedly the victims of a well-organized system. Too simplistic.”

“What we must tackle is Islamist separatism. A conscious theorized, the political-religious project is materializing through repeated deviations from the Republic’s values, which is often reflected by the formation of a counter-society as shown by children being taken out of school, the development of separate community sporting and cultural activities serving as a pretext for teaching principles which aren’t following the Republic’s laws. It’s indoctrination and, through this, the negation of our principles, gender equality, and human dignity.”

Therefore, we see that the President’s notion of separatism assumes that a minority of Muslims are setting themselves apart from French society and creating their societies in the suburbs. The problem here is that the speech portrays Muslims as being immature, which is far from true. Many studies have shown that the Muslim community is well integrated. According to a study in 2019, 70% of  Muslims claimed that they were allowed to practice their religion freely. 41% said that they should adopt some of the principles of laïcité as French citizens and 37% said that they wished laïcité to be more flexible. The Muslims do not criticize the age-old republic version of the 1905 law about the separation of the State and Church. They attempt to criticize the recent interpretations of the law that seems to blame the Islamic community for terror events.

 In his research, Vincent Geisser found that many Muslims called upon the mosque to pray for the preservation of France. Many others also grieved for non-Muslims who were victims of Islamist terror attacks. It has been observed by the Centre of Strategic and International Studies, a Washington DC-based think tank, which the US right-wing was responsible for 76% of the attacks but the Islamic extremists were blamed for them. Many argue that a vast majority of French Muslims are equally horrified by the terror attacks but feel the entire community cannot be stereotyped because of the actions of a few. However, many others in France now feel the urgent need to protect French secularism from what they see as a fundamentalist Islamist onslaught.  

The wedge between not only the Muslim community and the rest of the world but amongst every religious community is not new and has had a notorious effect on us. In Uttar Pradesh, renowned poet, Munawwar Rana was arrested by the police for spreading the already existing enmity between communities, when he said that he would kill whoever made an obscene cartoon of his father or mother, he would kill that person. He went on to say that he would feel like killing whoever made obscene and objectionable cartoons of Sita, Lord Ram, and other gods and goddesses. While anger revolving around the insult of one’s religion is understandable, the easy usage of the terms “killing” and actual murders for it is unacceptable and only shows how deeply religion is rooted in the minds of the people and the depths to which an individual, irrespective of his or her age, is willing to go.

Religion and actions based on religion have always been a hot topic of debate for women and men around the world and such terror attacks make one wonder how far this fight amongst the various communities will go.

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India-US, Foreign Office Consultations

Historically, India has always chosen to tread the neutral path when it has been faced with the decision of choosing a side in geopolitics, especially during the Nehruvian years, that is immediately after it attained independence, where it followed a strict policy of non-alignment. However, in recent times as India has chosen to increase its influence and emerge as an important geopolitical leader in the South-Asian region, it has substantially increased its cooperation and strengthened its ties with the United States. The latest developments between the two nations include a set of Foreign Office Consultations. The virtual meeting took place between the Foreign Secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, and the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, David Hale. Given the current situation where the virus is surging by leaps and bounds in both countries, the two representatives agreed to further strengthen the health partnership, including in the areas of pharmaceuticals and vaccine development.

They further agreed to ensure the enhancement of mutually beneficial trade and people-to-people ties. During this discussion, the Indian delegation addressed the issues regarding the VISA facilitation post-COVID, especially keeping in mind professionals and students. Following this, the two representatives moved on to address the elephant in the room, the Indo-Pacific, that has come to be seen as one of the most strategically important regions in the world, with 75% of world trade passing through the region. Keeping in mind India’s geographic proximity to the region and the US’ trade and military interests, both nations have persevered in the past to ensure a free open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, against China’s predatory approach. The following consultation acted as a testimony to India-US joint initiatives in the Indo-Pacific in the future. Lastly, the United States emphasised the US-India cooperation in the United Nation, especially after India was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the year 2020-21.

India-European Union Summit

India’s increased engagement in the Western Indian Ocean regions has led to the country cooperating and investing in strategic relationships with several European Nations. The 15th meeting of the India-European Union summit is scheduled to be held virtually. The meeting was co-chaired by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the President of the European Union, H.E Charles, and the President of the European Commission, H.E Ursula Von Der Leyen. The summit that is to be held in the coming days will mainly focus on India-EU cooperation covering political and security relations and at the same time will look into avenues of trade and investment. The summit would mainly be addressing the issues of development during the COVID 19 pandemic and contemporary global matters.

Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China border Affairs

India has been locking horns with the Chinese Republic over several issues. Most recent of these has been the border situation, at the Galwan Valley. On the 10th of July, 2020. The 16th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs was held. The Indian delegation was led by the Joint Secretary (East Asia) from the Ministry of External Affairs. Meanwhile, the Chinese delegation was led by the Director-General of the Boundary and Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before deliberating over the future steps in regards to the de-escalation in violence at the border regions, the two delegations looked back at the agreements between the two nations. The first of these agreements were between the two foreign ministers on the 17th of June, following which there was an agreement reached between special representatives on the 5th of July. The recent consultation essentially reviewed the situation at the India-China border including the progress made in terms of the ongoing disengagement of troops. It was decided that another meeting of the WMCC will be conducted in the future, followed by a meeting of the Senior Commanders, which will discuss further steps to ensure a complete disengagement and de-escalation in a timely manner. 

High-Level Summit of the United Nations Economic and Social Council

The Prime Minister recently delivered the keynote address at a high-level summit of the United Nations Economic and Social Council on the 17th of July. PM Narendra Modi had previously addressed the member nations of the council in 2016 at the 70th anniversary of the ECOSOC. This time around the Prime Minister delivered his address at the Valedictory session, where he was joined by the Prime Minister of Norway and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The summit attracted a diverse set of representatives from several nations. The Conference that celebrated the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, bears the theme of ‘Multilateralism after COVID 19: What kind of United Nations do we need at the 75th anniversary’. The session that primarily focused on bolstering leadership through global cooperation and international institutions, was the first opportunity the Indian Prime Minister had to address member nations since India got elected to the United Nations Security Council. The Summit acts to India’s advantage as it aligns with India’s Security Council priority, wherein India has emphasised the need for reformed multilateralism in a post-COVID-19 world. The session also recalled India’s role as a holder of the inaugural Presidency of the Economic and Social Council.

International Appointments

Jawed Ashraf, the Indian Ambassador to the French Republic has been concurrently accredited as the Ambassador to Principality of Monaco. At the same time Dr Vidya P Nair, who currently serves as a Director in the Ministry of External Affairs, has been designated as the next Ambassador to Turkmenistan. Lastly, Shri Hemant Harishchandra Kotalwar, presently Joint Secretary on deputation to NCSC has recently taken up the position of the next Ambassador to the Czech Republic.

Conclusion

India has for long followed an inward-facing forward policy, that did not prioritise bilateral relations and strategic partnerships and adopted a neutral stance on geopolitical matters. However, that is not the case anymore. With the given situation that the country finds itself in regards to the Chinese Republic, and the leadership position it has assumed after the Indian Prime Minister addressed nations at the Shangri-La dialogue, India has further increased its relations with European Nations and further strengthened its bilateral relations with the United States, to an extent where India has been promoted to the status, generally granted to treaty allies. With India’s burgeoning interest in geopolitics, India’s current foreign policy decisions will shape the position it assumes in the post-pandemic world order. 

Read Also: INDIA’S FOREIGN POLICY REPORT – EDITION #3

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