Matteo Renzi
FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019 file photo, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte, right, is flanked by Deputy-Premier Matteo Salvini as he addresses the Senate in Rome. When Giuseppe Conte exited the premier’s office, palace employees warmly applauded in him appreciation. But that’s hardly likely to be Conte’s last hurrah in politics. Just a few hours after the handover-ceremony to transfer power to Mario Draghi, the former European Central Bank chief now tasked with leading Italy in the pandemic, Conte dashed off a thank-you note to citizens that sounded more like an ’’arrivederci″ (see you again) then a retreat from the political world he was unexpectedly propelled into in 2018.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
Conte's last hurrah? Italy's 'simple citizen' plots return

By Frances D'emilio Feb. 15, 2021 05:22 AM EST

Italian Premier Mario Draghi sanitizes his hands as outgoing Premier Giuseppe Conte looks at him, as he enters Palazzo Chigi Premier office in Rome, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. Mario Draghi, credited with largely saving the euro currency, has formally taken the helm of Italy, focused on guiding the country through the pandemic and reviving its economy. Premier Draghi and his Cabinet ministers were sworn into office Saturday at the Quirinal presidential palace in front of President Sergio Mattarella. (Ettore Ferrari/Pool via AP)
Draghi takes helm in Italy, focused on pandemic recovery aid

By Frances D'emilio Feb. 13, 2021 07:09 AM EST

Soldiers march in the courtyard of the Quirinale presidential palace prior to the arrival of Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, in Rome, Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. Draghi has secured pledges of backing from nearly every party in the Italian Parliament as he wrapped up political consultations aimed at giving the pandemic-ravaged nation a new government. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Draghi forms new govt blending experts, political operatives

By Colleen Barry And Nicole Winfield Feb. 12, 2021 01:49 PM EST

FILE -- In this Feb. 9, 2021 file photo, Five Star Movement's Beppe Grillo arrives to meet with former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, at the Chamber of Deputies, in Rome. The populist 5-Star Movement, the Italian Parliament’s largest party, is holding off for now on committing to back the new government Mario Draghi is trying to assemble. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)
Italian populists dither over support for Draghi government

By Frances D'emilio Feb. 10, 2021 02:02 PM EST

Five-Star Movement's Luigi Di Maio waves after meeting Mario Draghi, at the Chamber of Deputies in Rome, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021. Former European Central Bank chief Draghi is consulting Italy’s fractious parties after being tapped by President Sergio Mattarella to try to pull together a government to guide the debt-riddled country through the health and economic crises it is confronting. (Mauro Scrobogna/LaPresse via AP)
Italy's Draghi wins support of 2 rival parties for new govt

By Colleen Barry Feb. 06, 2021 10:01 AM EST

FILE - In this Thursday, June 5, 2014 file photo, the President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi speaks during a news conference in Frankfurt, Germany. Italy's weary president on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021 tapped "Super Mario," arguably the world's most famous Italian, to resolve a festering political crisis that threatens the ability of the eurozone's third-largest economy to manage the coronavirus pandemic and recover from the worst recession since World War II. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
Draghi wins support of ex-Italian PM who triggered crisis

By Colleen Barry Feb. 05, 2021 01:30 PM EST

Mario Draghi arrives at the Chamber of Deputies in Rome Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. As Mario Draghi works to secure the required backing in Parliament for him to govern, Italy's outgoing leader on Wednesday warned against the former European Central Bank chief's opting to lead the pandemic-battered country with a team of technocrats instead of politicians. Caretaker Premier Giuseppe Conte told reporters he had a long, “very open” talk a day earlier with Draghi, shortly after Italy’s president asked the banking expert to try to form a government to replace Conte’s collapsed coalition. (Mauro Scrobogna/LaPresse via AP)
Italy's Conte: Draghi's new government should be political

By Frances D'emilio Feb. 04, 2021 11:03 AM EST

A group of supporters hold placards reading "Draghi President" in front of the Quirinale Presidential palace in Rome Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi arrived for talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella to discuss a mandate to form a new government. (Mauro Scrobogna/LaPresse via AP)
Italy looks to 'Super Mario' Draghi to end political crisis

By Nicole Winfield And Colleen Barry Feb. 03, 2021 03:03 AM EST

FILE-- Italy's President Sergio Mattarella, left, welcomes reigning European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on the eve of the change at the head of the ECB in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019. Italian President Sergio Mattarella has summoned Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi at the Quirinale Presidential Palace on Wednesday for talks, after two rounds of talks failed to seal an agreement among parties on a new premiership for the outgoing Giuseppe Conte. (Boris Roessler/Pool Photo via AP)
Ex-ECB's Draghi positioned to lead Italy after politics fail

By Frances D'emilio Feb. 02, 2021 10:11 AM EST

Italian President Sergio Mattarella leaves after talking to the media at the Quirinale presidential palace in Rome Friday, Jan. 29, 2021. Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte resigned after a key coalition ally pulled his party's support over Conte's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, setting the stage for consultations this week to determine if he can form a third government. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, Pool)
Italy's president: 4 days to see if coalition can be reborn

By Frances D'emilio Jan. 29, 2021 02:49 PM EST

A man stands by the Quirinale presidential palace in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte resigned after a key coalition ally pulled his party's support over Conte's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, setting the stage for consultations this week to determine if he can form a third government. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Italian president opens talks to resolve political crisis

By Colleen Barry Jan. 27, 2021 01:18 PM EST

Reporters stand at the entrance of the Rome's Quirinale Presidential Palace, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. Premier Giuseppe Conte was meeting Tuesday, with his cabinet before heading to the presidential palace to offer his resignation after a key coalition ally pulled his party's support over Conte's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Italian premier resigns, setting off scramble for new allies

By Nicole Winfield Jan. 26, 2021 04:52 AM EST

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte speaks during his final address at the Senate prior to a confidence vote, in Rome, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte fights for his political life with an address aimed at shoring up support for his government, which has come under fire from former Premier Matteo Renzi's tiny but key Italia Viva (Italy Alive) party over plans to relaunch the pandemic-ravaged economy. (Roberto Monaldo/ Lapresse via AP)
Italian premier to offer resignation as government wobbles

By Frances D'emilio Jan. 25, 2021 02:01 PM EST

A general view of the upper house of parliament at the Senate after a confidence vote, in Rome, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte fights for his political life with an address aimed at shoring up support for his government, which has come under fire from former Premier Matteo Renzi's tiny but key Italia Viva (Italy Alive) party over plans to relaunch the pandemic-ravaged economy. (Yara Nardi/pool photo via AP)
Italian PM Conte works to cement majority after narrow vote

By Nicole Winfield Jan. 20, 2021 05:10 AM EST

Premier Giuseppe Conte, top center, delivers his speech at the Senate, in Rome, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Conte fights for his political life with an address aimed at shoring up support for his government, which has come under fire from former Premier Matteo Renzi's tiny but key Italia Viva (Italy Alive) party over plans to relaunch the pandemic-ravaged economy. (Andreas Solaro/Pool via AP)
Italian PM wins crucial vote in Senate with very thin margin

By Frances D'emilio And Colleen Barry Jan. 19, 2021 04:15 AM EST

Premier Giuseppe Conte delivers his speech at the lower chamber of Parliament, in Rome, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. Conte fights for his political life with an address aimed at shoring up support for his government, which has come under fire from former Premier Matteo Renzi's tiny but key Italia Viva (Italy Alive) party over plans to relaunch the pandemic-ravaged economy. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, pool)
Italy: Conte clears hurdle to retain power, bigger one ahead

By Colleen Barry And Nicole Winfield Jan. 18, 2021 05:23 AM EST

FILE - In this Jan 13, 2021 file photo, Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is mobbed by reporters as he walks near Palazzo Chigi government headquarters, in Rome, Wednesday, Jan 13, 2021. Former premier Matteo Renzi is testing his already low popularity by provoking a political crisis that could bring down the government at yet another critical juncture in the fight against the pandemic. The outcome Renzi’s powerplay - orchestrating the resignations of two ministers from his tiny but key Italia Viva party - will play out this week, when Premier Giuseppe Conte addresses both houses of Parliament in a bid to win support and form what would be his third coalition government since elections in 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
EXPLAINER: Italy faces a political crisis amid a pandemic

By Colleen Barry Jan. 17, 2021 03:11 AM EST

A new of the Italian Senate, in Rome, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. His government risking collapse, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte will address Parliament on how he plans to deal with the political crisis triggered by a small coalition partner’s yanking of support. Conte told President Sergio Mattarella in a meeting Thursday at the presidential palace that he intends to go before Parliament to lay out “the indispensable political clarification” about the crisis, the palace said in a statement. It wasn’t immediately announced when that would happen. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Italy's PM to address Parliament on latest coalition crisis

Jan. 14, 2021 12:50 PM EST

Italian Senator, former premier and head of the political party 'Italia Viva' (IV), Matteo Renzi holds a press conference at the Italian Chamber of Deputies in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. The Italian cabinet was in crisis on January 13, 2021 following the resignations of ministers Teresa Bellanova and Elena Bonetti, members of former premier Matteo Renzi's Italia Viva party. (Alberto Pizzoli/pool via AP)
Ex-premier yanks ministers from Italy's coalition government

By Frances D'emilio Jan. 13, 2021 08:16 AM EST

FILE - In this Friday, June 12, 2020 file photo, a nurse uses a swab to perform a coronavirus test in Salt Lake City. On Friday, July 10, 2020, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly asserting that the nasal swab test commonly used for diagnosing COVID-19 involves obtaining a sample from a protective layer of cells known as the blood-brain barrier, which can result in inflammation of the brain. The swab goes so far back into the nose that it can be uncomfortable, even causing some people’s eyes to water. But it doesn't touch the area where blood vessels and the brain exchange important nutrients. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week

Ali Swenson, Beatrice Dupuy, Arijeta Lajka And Amanda Seitz Jul. 10, 2020 06:14 PM EDT