Italy’s Lega Party Calls For Early Parliamentary Elections, Says Gov’t Not Cooperating

ROME (Sputnik) - Matteo Salvini, a former Italian deputy prime minister and the leader of the Lega political party, has proposed holding early parliamentary elections together with regional and local elections in the fall, and he accused the Italian government of reluctance to cooperate with the opposition.

"We tried to collaborate with the government. We gave them a lot of proposals. There is no response from the government," Salvini told the la Stampa newspaper in an interview published on Monday, adding that he hoped that parliamentary elections will be held in September or October, together with scheduled regional and local elections.

The exact dates of the regional and local elections have not yet been decided.

According to Salvini, Italian President Sergio Mattarella has called on the ruling coalition, composed of the Democratic Party and the Five-Star Movement, to collaborate with the opposition parties. Nevertheless, the coalition has ignored all of the appeals.

The Lega party leader also said that the government has not responded to the opposition's proposals on how to handle the COVID-19 crisis.

The Lega, which is part of Italy’s centre-right coalition together with its allies from the Fratelli d'Italia and Forza Italia parties, is one of the most popular parties and is supported by 25 percent of voters.

Meanwhile, the party has lost some of its popularity since summer 2019, when approximately 35 percent of Italians backed it, according to political polls.