Former Italian Prime Minister Conte Returns to Politics After 6 Months Out, Elected Leader of Largest Party

Former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte officially returned to politics six months after being ousted during the COVID-19 crisis by being elected as the leader of the largest party in parliament.

According to Politico and others on the 6th (local time), former Prime Minister Conte was officially elected as the leader of the opposition party Movimento 5 Stelle (Five Star Movement) through a party member vote, receiving 92.9% approval from 67,064 voters.

Conte was ousted and stepped down as prime minister after two years and eight months in office due to the crisis that began with COVID-19 in February. A law professor and lawyer by background, he was appointed prime minister in 2018 after the Five Star Movement became the largest party in the general election, leading two coalition governments.

Founded in 2009 with the slogan of breaking corrupt establishment politics, the Five Star Movement secured 32.7% of the vote in the 2018 general election, becoming the largest party. However, recently its approval rating has fallen to around 15%, and internal conflicts have surfaced, putting the party in crisis. Locally, it is assessed that Conte, who remains popular with the public even after his ousting, now faces the challenge of restoring the party’s cohesion.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.