ROME — In the wrestling match between the Italian government and Brussels, the Italians are now fighting among themselves.

Tensions within the country’s coalition government reached a climax this week over the election of former German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission.

MEPs from the far-right League voted against von der Leyen in Tuesday’s confirmation vote in the European Parliament, while MEPs from their coalition partner, the anti-establishment 5Star Movement, voted for her.

That makes the League the only governing party in the EU to openly vote against von der Leyen after the country’s leader — in Italy’s case, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte — voted in favor of her nomination at a European Council summit earlier this month.

(The German Social Democrats also voted against von der Leyen Tuesday, but Chancellor Angela Merkel had abstained in the Council because of her coalition partner’s disapproval of the nomination.)

The League’s decision not to back von der Leyen enraged Conte, according to two government aides — as the prime minister had explicitly told the two parties in his governing coalition to back the Council’s nominees.

Rising tensions

Tensions within the government were already rising prior to the confirmation vote following a series of moves by the League that have infuriated the 5Stars and Conte, an independent who is considered close to the 5Stars.

Allegations that the League sought Russian funding ahead of the European Parliament election prompted Conte to insist that the party’s leader Matteo Salvini, who also serves as interior minister and one of two deputy prime ministers, must urgently address the matter in parliament. Salvini has already rejected the opposition’s demand to do so.

The 5Stars, meanwhile, threw their support behind a motion by the opposition Democratic Party demanding an inquiry into the League’s financing.

And if that wasn’t enough, a meeting organized by Salvini with union representatives at the interior ministry earlier this week sparked further bickering within the coalition. Conte objected to the gathering, arguing it was not his deputy’s job to discuss economic reforms and tax cuts with unions. The meeting, he said, amounted to “foul play” by Salvini.

The 5Stars also complained about the presence of former Transport Undersecretary Armando Siri at the meeting. Siri was sacked from his post last May over a corruption probe.

The League’s rejection of von der Leyen has tilted the coalition further toward dissolution.

Dispute over von der Leyen

On Thursday, Conte said in a letter published in Italian newspaper La Repubblica that “supporting von der Leyen, whose political career I admire, meant Italy would get the commissioner I negotiated for … which is why I told the League and 5Stars MEPs to back her … the League’s vote now throws that negotiation up in the air.”

Salvini was quick to fire back, arguing that his coalition partners “betrayed Italians by voting [for] the Commission chief proposed by Macron and Merkel and supported by [former Prime Ministers Matteo] Renzi and [Silvio] Berlusconi,” he tweeted on Thursday.

On the sidelines of a meeting in Helsinki on Thursday, Salvini doubled down: “The 5Stars no longer have my political or personal confidence,” he said.

MEP Marco Campomenosi, one of the League’s 29 European Parliament lawmakers, said the 5Stars’ decision was “a very negative one and the furious reactions from their voters on social media confirm it.”

The 5Stars reject the League’s criticism. The party’s MEP Tiziana Beghin said that “from Poland to Spain, Portugal and Hungary,” every governing party said they would vote in favor of von der Leyen — “everyone except the SPD and the League, which inexplicably U-turned from their own statements just hours ahead of the vote.”

The League had been undecided ahead of Tuesday’s vote. Marco Zanni, a League MEP who serves as leader of the far-right Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament, had said his party was “in principle” open to supporting von der Leyen.

Consequences

The political scuffle has likely scuttled chances that the League — which came first in the European election in Italy in May — will be able to nominate one of their own as next Italian commissioner. The odds for Italy to receive the competition portfolio, Rome’s preferred post, have also likely fizzled.

“It’s always been unlikely for Italy to get the competition portfolio, which [current Competition Commissioner Margrethe] Vestager wants to keep, but it has now become impossible,” said a Renew Europe MEP.

League officials, however, have dismissed the potential consequences, saying their political ideals are more important than any top job.

The showdown has raised speculation that the government’s term is nearing its end.

“The ruling parties fight all the time, but Tuesday’s events are more serious than the previous ones because the League contradicted the prime minister’s clear indication, proving once again Conte is completely irrelevant and Italy is isolated,” said Alessandra Moretti, an MEP from the opposition Democratic Party. Moretti said she believes the coalition will survive for a while, because the Cabinet members won’t want to lose their jobs.

Some government officials in Rome, however, believe this fight could be the final one. “Salvini is more focused on the national government than the EU, and losing a commissioner could mean gaining extra ammunition to call a snap election and blame both the 5Stars and Brussels for it,” said a senior government official.

Many League officials are fed up with the 5Stars and openly say they want to head back to the polls immediately. “It’s better to put an end to this,” said Public Administration Minister Giulia Bongiorno.

Others worry that further developments in the Russian money scandal could compromise Salvini’s chances of being elected as prime minister and believe that it would therefore be better to wait for a few months.

Friday evening is the deadline for Salvini to pull the plug on the government if he wants to call a snap election by late September, and some officials have indicated that he may do so.

“He’s trying to schedule a meeting with President [Sergio] Mattarella to discuss his options,” a senior League government aide said. “He could announce the end of the government after a Cabinet meeting on Friday afternoon, unless the 5Stars agree to the League’s proposal on increased governmental autonomy for northern regions.”

The proposal is highly unpopular among the 5Stars’ southern voter base — meaning the party is unlikely to agree.