Economic policies On economic and fiscal issues, one of the main proposals of his first government was a reform of the
Italian tax system, with the introduction of a 15% rate
flat tax for small entrepreneurs and self-employed with an amount of annual revenues less than €65,000. Though this "flat regime" was a proposal from the right-wing League, it was also confirmed by Conte's second government, which had a centre-left bias. During his first cabinet, Conte's government rolled out what is known as the
citizens' income (), a system of
social welfare provision that provides a basic income and assistance in finding a job to help poor people and families. The income was set at a maximum of €780 per month, and in its first year the programme had almost 2.7 million applications. The bill was later confirmed by Conte's second cabinet. In September 2019, at the head of his second government, Conte launched a "Green New Deal", named after the analogous
US proposed legislation that aimed to
address climate change and
economic inequality. In the same period, he praised students who
protested against climate change, saying: "The images from the squares during the
Fridays for Future are extraordinary, with so many young people participating with such passion. On the part of the government, there is the utmost commitment to translate this request for change into concrete solutions. We all have a great responsibility for this." In February 2020, Conte appointed
Mariana Mazzucato as his economic counsellor. Mazzucato, a professor at
University College London, is considered one of the most prominent supporters of
state intervensionism. In April 2020, amid the
COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, Conte became the most vocal supporter of issuing
Eurobonds to assist with the crisis, describing the
European Stability Mechanism (ESM) as "completely inadequate". Conte found key allies in France, Spain,
Belgium, Ireland,
Portugal,
Greece,
Slovenia and
Luxembourg, which demanded more be done to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic; while Germany, the
Netherlands,
Austria,
Finland and
Estonia strongly opposed the eurobonds. Conte, during an interview with German weekly
Die Zeit, questioned: "What do we want to do in Europe? Does each member state want to go its own way?", He also added: "If we are a union, now is the time to prove it." On 8 April, he stated "we should loosen the European fiscal rules, otherwise we would have to cancel Europe and everyone will go their own way." On 23 April, the
European Council agreed on a ESM without conditionality to sustain direct and indirect healthcare costs and the implementation of the a recovery fund to help with post-COVID reconstruction. On 13 May, the Council of Ministers approved the so-called "Relaunch decree", with a budget of nearly €55 billion. This decree included "emergency income" for lower-income families, self-employed workers and economics aid to businesses. From 13 to 21 June 2020, Prime Minister Conte organized a conference called
Progettiamo il Rilancio (
We Plan the Relaunch), better known as "estates general", in
Villa Doria Pamphili in Rome, with the aim of "forging a coherent and well-funded plan for Italy's economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis". The government invited prominent international politicians including
Paolo Gentiloni,
David Sassoli and
Ursula von der Leyen, economists such as
Christine Lagarde,
Ignazio Visco,
Kristalina Georgieva,
Olivier Jean Blanchard,
Esther Duflo and
Tito Boeri, and top managers like
Vittorio Colao. The three main trade unions of the country,
CGIL,
CISL and
UIL, and the Italian industrial employers' confederation,
Confindustria, also took part in this estates general. The Prime Minister also invited the opposition leaders; however, on 10 June,
Matteo Salvini,
Giorgia Meloni and
Antonio Tajani said they would not take part in the conference. From 17 to 21 July, Giuseppe Conte took part in one of the longest
European Councils in history. After days of harsh confrontations, especially between Conte and Dutch Prime Minister
Mark Rutte, the European leaders agreed on a new proposal by the president of the Council,
Charles Michel, which provided a budget of €750 billion for the
Recovery Fund, composed of €390 billion in grants and €360 billion in loans. Italy would benefit from nearly €82 billion in grants and €127 billion in loans. Prime Minister Conte described the deal as an "historic day for Italy and Europe".
Immigration When Conte became prime minister in 2018, he acted quickly to deliver on promises to the government's anti-immigration base through strict controls on
immigration to Italy. Since 2013, Italy had absorbed over 700,000 African migrants arriving by boat from
Libya. During his premiership, Conte and his Interior Minister
Matteo Salvini promoted stricter policies regarding immigration and public security. After Conte's approval on 10 June 2018, Salvini announced the closure of Italian
ports to vessels rescuing immigrants in the
Mediterranean Sea. On 24 September 2018, the Council of Ministers approved the "Salvini decree", which contained a series of hardline measures that saw the
Italian government abolish key forms of protection for migrants and make it easier for them to be deported. The decree also suspends the refugee application process of those who are considered "socially dangerous" or who have been convicted of a crime. The decree was abolished in December 2020. On 23 September 2019, Italy and other four European countries, Germany, France, Malta and Finland, agreed on a draft deal to present to other EU countries on how to manage the migrant crisis and distribute those saved from the Mediterranean. This agreement was considered a victory for Conte and his new interior minister,
Luciana Lamorgese. On 8 April 2020, amid the
coronavirus pandemic, the government closed all Italian ports until 31 July, stating that they could not ensure the necessary requirements for the classification and definition of "safe place", established by the
Hamburg Rules on maritime search and rescue."
Ponte Morandi collapse On 14 August 2018, during a torrential rainstorm over the city of
Genoa, a section of the
Ponte Morandi collapsed. Between 30 and 35 cars and three trucks were reported to have fallen from the bridge, with the deaths of 43 people. The day after the collapse, Conte declared a state of emergency for the
Liguria region, which would last for a year. After few days, Conte appointed
Marco Bucci, the elected
mayor of Genoa, as extraordinary commissioner for bridge reconstruction. In addition, the government put pressure on the managers of the Italian highway company,
Autostrade per l’Italia (ASPI), which is part of the
Benetton family owned
Atlantia. The M5S asked the revocation of license to Benetton family and the
nationalization of ASPI. Despite bitter controversies, the revocation was not immediately implemented. The last two cable-stayed pillars of the bridge were removed through
explosive demolition on 28 June 2019. The complete bridge was scheduled to be removed, along with many damaged residential buildings in the surrounding area. The reconstruction of a replacement bridge, designed by famous Italian architect
Renzo Piano, began on 25 June 2019 and was completed on 28 April 2020. On 3 August 2020, the new bridge, named
Saint George Bridge, after the patron saint of the
Republic of Genoa, was inaugurated by Conte and President Mattarella and opened to
motor vehicles after a few days.
Nationalization of the highway company In July 2020,
Paola De Micheli, the
Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, announced that the bridge-operation license would be temporarily assigned to previous operators ASPI. This gave rise to harsh criticism both from the right-wing opposition and the M5S. On 13 July, Conte stepped in to halt any possible prorogation of the license to ASPI, commenting that the company's proposal "was totally unacceptable", and he added: "The members of the Benetton family have not yet understood that this government will not sacrifice the good of the public on the altar of their interests." On 15 July, the government and Atlantia reached an agreement which brought about the
nationalization of the national highway company ASPI, with the state holding a majority participation through
Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, while Atlantia would keep only 10% of the company's stock. In a second phase, a listing is planned, aiming to create a company with a widespread shareholder base.
Constitutional reform Under Conte's governments, the
Italian Parliament approved what is known as the "
Fraccaro Reform", from the name of the M5S deputy who was the bill's first signatory. The reform was finally approved by the Parliament, with the fourth and final vote in the Chamber of Deputies on 8 October, with 553 votes in favour and 14 against. In the final vote, the bill was supported both by the majority and the opposition; only the liberal party
More Europe (+Eu) and other small groups voted against. The reform called for a cut in the number of MPs, which would shrink from 630 to 400 deputies and from 315 to 200 senators. After the proposal's approval, Conte said: "The reduction in parliamentarians is a reform that will bring a greater efficiency of parliamentary jobs. Now, citizens will be closer to the institutions. It is a historical passing that, together with other projected reform, will be a prelude to greater efficiency of our parliamentary system." The
referendum to approve the reform was scheduled on 29 March. However it was postponed to 20–21 September due to the
coronavirus pandemic which hit Italy hard. In September, Italians largely
approved the reform, with nearly 70% voting in favor.
COVID-19 pandemic In February 2020, Italy became one of the world's main centres for confirmed cases of
COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by the
SARS-CoV-2 virus that was first detected in
Wuhan. In late January, the government banned all flights from and to China, becoming the first European country to adopt this measure. On 22 February, the
Council of Ministers announced a bill to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, quarantining more than 50,000 people from 11 different municipalities in
Northern Italy. Prime Minister Conte stated: "In the outbreak areas, entry and exit will not be provided. Suspension of work activities and sports events has already been ordered in those areas." After few days, schools and universities closed in the whole country. On 8 March 2020, Prime Minister Conte extended the quarantine to all of
Lombardy and 14 other northern provinces,
putting more than a quarter of the national population under lockdown. On the following day, he announced in a press conference that all measures previously applied only in the so-called "red zones" had been extended to the whole country, putting
de facto 60 million people in lockdown. He later proceeded to officially sign the executive decree. This measure was described as the largest lockdown in human history. rules in March 2020 The lockdown measures, despite being widely approved by
public opinion, were also described as the largest suppression of
constitutional rights in the history of the republic. Nevertheless, Article 16 of the
Constitution states that
travel restrictions may be established by law for reasons of health or security. On 20 March, the
Ministry of Health ordered tighter regulations on free movement. While on the following day, Conte announced further restrictions within the nationwide lockdown, by halting all non-essential production, industries and businesses, following the rise in the number of new cases and deaths in the previous days. On 24 March, in a live-streamed press conference, Conte announced a new decree approved by the Council of Ministers. The decree imposed higher fines for the violation of the restrictive measures, and a regulation of the relationship between the government and Parliament during the emergency. It also included the possibility of reducing or suspending public and private transport and gave the regional governments the power to impose additional restrictive regulations in their Regions for a maximum of seven days before being confirmed by national decree. On 1 April, Conte's government extended the period of lockdown until 13 April. On 10 April, Conte made further announcements extending the lockdown until 3 May, allowing some specific businesses, like
bookstores and
silviculture activities, to reopen under specific safe measures. On the same day, he appointed a
task force to relaunch Italy after the crisis; the team was led by
Vittorio Colao and composed by a total of nineteen members, chosen among university professors, managers and public administration officers, which notably included
Mariana Mazzucato and
Enrico Giovannini. On 26 April, the Prime Minister announced the so-called "Phase 2", which would start from 4 May. Movements across regions were still forbidden, while the ones between municipalities and provinces were allowed only for work and health reasons as well as for visiting relatives. Moreover, he allowed the re-opening of closed factories, but schools, bars, restaurants and barbers were still closed. On 18 May, the lockdown officially ended and the government allowed the reopening of bars, restaurants, barbers and gyms. However, travels across regions were still limited. during the pandemic. On 28 and 29 July, the Parliament approved the extension of the
state of emergency until October 2020, proposed by the government. The state of emergency, which was firstly introduced in January 2020, gave greater powers to the prime minister and the government in facing the crisis. The extension created criticism both from the opposition and the liberal wing of the government. The right-wing leader Giorgia Meloni accused the government of pursuing a "dangerous liberticidal drift", asserting that the emergency was already over. Conte described Meloni's accusations as "dangerous and false", adding that the extension of the emergency was a "legitimate and inevitable measure", which became necessary because "the virus continues to circulate in the country". On 16 August, after an increase in the daily number of new COVID-19 cases, the government closed all the discos and night clubs, and imposed to wear a mask outdoors in some areas considered at risk of crowding. In October 2020, the confirmed cases continued to grow, reaching the daily record since the beginning of the pandemic. On 7 October, the Parliament postponed the end of the state of emergency to 31 January 2021. On 13 October, the Council of Ministers approved a new decree concerning further restrictions for bars and restaurants as well as the mandatory use of protection mask outdoors. On 18 October, Conte announced further restrictions, including limitations to the opening hours of bars and restaurants, as well as a suspension of amateur contact sports, local festivals and conferences. On 25 October, the government introduced new restrictions, imposing the closing of gyms, swimming pools, theatres and cinemas, as well as the closing of bars and restaurants by 6 pm. in October 2020 On 4 November 2020, Prime Minister Conte announced a new lockdown, dividing the country into three zones depending on the severity of the pandemic, corresponding to red, orange and yellow zones. Moreover, a national curfew from 10 pm to 5 am was implemented, as well as compulsory weekend closing for shopping malls, and online education in high schools. Conte described the situation as "particularly critical", asserting that the virus was moving at a "strong and even violent" pace. In red zones, lockdown measures were similar to the ones which were implemented from March to May 2020, such as compulsory closing for shops, restaurants and other activities, online education for schools except for kindergartens, elementary schools and sixth-grade classes, and no movements allowed except for working or necessity reasons. In orange zones, restrictions included compulsory closing of restaurants and online education for high schools only, while movement within the home-town territory was still allowed. In yellow zones, the only restrictions included compulsory closing for restaurant and bar activities at 6 pm, and online education for high schools only. On 2 December, a further movement restriction was implemented by the government to prevent an increase in cases during the Christmas holiday period, forbidding movement between regions from 21 December to 6 January. To prevent people from gathering during Christmas,
Saint Stephen's Day and New Year's Day, travel between different
comuni was also restricted, and the curfew for New Year's Eve was extended to 7 am. On 18 December, Conte announced that the whole country will be declared "red zone" on Christmas Day and on the other festivities.
Foreign policy in October 2018 Since the beginning of his term as prime minister, Conte's
foreign policy has been characterized by a lenient approach to Russia. For example, he pressed for the repeal of international sanctions against Russia, which according to him "damage the
Italian economy". He also considered Russia a strategic partner in the
fight against
Islamic terrorism. However, Conte stressed that under his leadership Italy will remain an active member of
NATO and a close ally of the United States. During the
COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, after a phone call with Conte, Russian president
Vladimir Putin arranged the
Russian army to send military medics, special disinfection vehicles and other medical equipment to Italy, which was the European country hardest hit by coronavirus. During his premiership, Conte built a close relationship with U.S. President
Donald Trump. Since the beginning of Conte's government, Trump considered him a key ally during international meetings as well as his "privileged interlocutor" in Europe. On 8 and 9 June, Conte participated in his first
G7 summit, hosted by Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau in Canada. During the summit, he was the only leader to back President Trump and his proposal to readmit Russia into the G7. However, he later assumed a more
pro-European view, shared by the other five leaders, condemning
Trump tariffs on steel and aluminium exported by the
European Union. On the following day, Conte was thanked for his positions on Russia and his populist stance by President Trump, who invited him to the
White House. On 28 June, Conte participated in his first
European Council meeting and blocked a joint EU trade and defense statement criticizing Trump's tariff policy. in June 2018 In June 2018, Trump praised Conte, describing him as a "really great leader" and "very strong on immigration". Trump also endorsed Conte during the
2019 government crisis, hoping that he could remain prime minister. In 2019, Conte authorized the US Attorney General,
William Barr, to discuss with the Italian intelligence services about a possible plot against President Trump amid the investigations on the
Russian interferences in the
2016 presidential election. This event arose criticism, especially within his own majority coalition, with the Democratic Party and Italia Viva, which asked the Prime Minister to clarify it. Conte stated that the meeting with Barr was "legal and fair", adding that he had never talked about this matter with President Trump. On 31 March 2020, President Trump announced that the United States would send 100 million dollars of medical aids to Italy, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic which was affecting the country. After few days, during an interview at the
NBC, Conte described Trump as "Italy's true and loyal friend". On 11 April, Trump issued an
executive order in which he allowed U.S. militaries deployed in Italy to assist Italian law enforcement in facing the crisis. His close relationship with Trump generated some tensions and journalistic speculations after Trump's defeat to
Joe Biden in the
November 2020 presidential election. Conte was the last leader of a G7 member to congratulate Biden for his victory; moreover, he was the last leader among the European G7 members to be phone called by the new President-elect. During the call, the two leaders expressed their will to cooperate in major global challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic and
climate change. During his cabinet, Conte built a friendly relationship with the Spanish prime minister
Pedro Sánchez. The two leaders organized several bilateral meetings and often shared the same positions during European Council meetings, especially on economics, immigration policies and climate change. Moreover, Conte and Sánchez advocated for anti-
austerity measures and for an increase in the
European Union's budget. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they were among the main proponents of
Next Generation EU. In November 2020, commenting on the relation with his Spanish counterpart, Conte stated: "With my friend Sánchez, we have reaffirmed the alliance between our countries, as well as a common view on the main European and international issues. Together we are a power." At the beginning of his political career, Conte was described as a
populist and
Eurosceptic politician, openly critical towards the
European Union, whose economic and financial rules were described as "old and outdated"; however, he later toned down his Eurosceptic rhetoric, whilst still remaining a vocal anti-austerity leader, as it became evidence during the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely affected Europe. In March 2019, Conte and the Chinese President
Xi Jinping signed in Rome 29 economic and institutional agreements amounting to 2.5 billion
euros, including a
memorandum of understanding on the
Belt and Road Initiative investments program. Prime Minister Conte's position on the Chinese investments programme was criticized by the other major Western powers. at a
G7 event in
Canada, December 2019 In August 2019, amid a serious
government crisis, Conte took part, as caretaker prime minister, in the
45th G7 summit in
Biarritz, in what was believed to be his last summit as head of government. The main topics of the summit included
global trade,
climate change, taxing technology companies, but also
Iran nuclear deal, and
2019 Amazon wildfires. in 2020 Conte criticized the
2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria. He stated that the offensive "puts the region's civilians and stability in jeopardy". In January 2020, the situation of the
Libyan Civil War became increasingly worrying, with the troops of field marshal
Khalifa Haftar approaching
Tripoli. During the crisis, Prime Minister Conte had a series of bilateral meetings in Rome both with Haftar and
Fayez al-Sarraj, the chairman of the
Presidential Council of Libya, who are considered two of the main contenders in the civil war. After pressures from the international community, on 12 January Haftar announced a
ceasefire. In November 2018, Silvia Romano, a 23-year-old Italian aid worker, was kidnapped in Kenya by a group of terrorists linked to
Al-Shabaab. On 9 May 2020, Conte announced her liberation in a tweet. Immediately after the announcement, speculations rose about the ransom paid to the kidnappers, which according to some sources stood at around €4 million. Moreover, Romano became the target of a hate campaign by the right-wing opposition due to her conversion to
Islam, occurred during the captivity. During a discussion in the Chamber of Deputies, Alessandro Pagano, a member of the
League, called her a "neo-terrorist". On 1 September 2020, two Italian fishing boats were detained by the
Libyan Coast Guard, along with their crews of eighteen members total, while allegedly fishing in Libya's territorial waters in the
Southern Mediterranean. Prime Minister Conte asked for the immediately release, but the Libyan commander
Khalifa Haftar denied it, demanding a
prisoner exchange. On 17 December 2020, Conte announced that the eighteen fishermen were freed. In November 2020, an investigation conducted by Italian magistrates on the
murder of Giulio Regeni, an Italian graduate student who was tortured to death in
Egypt in 2016, resulted in the conviction of five agents of the Egyptian
National Security Agency. On 21 November, Conte gave a two-weeks ultimatum to Egyptian President
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to cooperate with Italian authorities, stating: "We need answers on Regeni's murder. The time is over." The Prime Minister also threatened to withdraw the ambassador if the Egyptian government will not cooperate. On 11 December, the Italian magistrates officially denounced four Egyptian officers. ==After the premiership (2021–present)==