Tensions have risen among Italian government officials as many leaders around the country are pleading with Prime Minister Mario Draghi to rethink his plan to resign. Draghi, who assumed office last year, won a confidence vote in parliament, but lost part of his party coalition after walked out of the Senate vote. This included members of the 5-Star movement, led by Giuseppe Conte, the largest party in the coalition government, who walked out in protest of a plan to build an incinerator in Rome. Draghi had previously vowed that he would only stay in office if he had the support of all parties in the coalition.

Now, many Italian lawmakers, and even the President, are encouraging Draghi to reconsider his resignation. An open letter was signed by over 100 mayors of major Italian cities, citing Draghi’s good work on the problems of everyday citizens as a reason he should stay. President Sergio Mattarella rejected Draghi’s initial resignation, with several lawmakers agreeing, citing the current instability of the Italian situation.

Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi showed his support for Draghi to stay in office, tweeting “Let’s mobilize ourselves in every way to bring back Draghi to Chigi Palace (the premier’s office).” In the petition, Italian mayors describe themselves, saying those “who are called upon every day to manage and resolve the problems that afflict our citizens, ask Mario Draghi to go ahead and explain to parliament the good reasons why the government must continue.”

In response, members of the 5-Star Party stated that they “cannot share the responsibility of the government if there is no certainty over the issues that we have underlined,” regarding their walk-out during the vote.

Draghi’s decision to resign is a seemingly obvious choice after the vote of no confidence, but what is surprising is the desperation to keep him in the position. With parliamentary rules for this vote encouraging Draghi remove’s from office, there is a significant movement to extend other rules to keep him in power. It is a sign of the times – with the world still facing the coronavirus pandemic aftereffects, combined with the war in Ukraine – that Italians desperately want their government to seem intact and legitimate. Draghi has not been the most successful leader in modern Italian politics, but with the condition many nations are in, it looks as though this is yet another attempt to maintain the status quo.

Draghi, who made his career in finance for Italy and the rest of Europe, has primarily been faced with helping the Italian economy recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Draghi had been steadfast in getting Italy to reform enough to receive 200 billion euros in funds for coronavirus recovery from the European Union. = Many internationally applauded his recent aid of weaponry sent to Ukraine and continued support, but this began the dissatisfaction of Italian populists.

Draghi’s decision now comes with the risk of losing the pandemic recovery benefits, giving President Mattarella the tough decision to dissolve Parliament and hold an election in late September. The Italian government’s strength in recovering economically in 2022 is reliant on Mario Draghi’s decision on whether or not to resign this coming week as Prime Minister. A domino effect will ensue if he chooses to leave office, but the problems economically for Italy will still remain, Draghi or not.