The Italian government is hanging by a thread. The collapse of the coalition between the right-wing League party and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement seems imminent after League leader Matteo Salvini asked Aug. 8 for an early general election. But even if the League formally leaves the coalition government, several institutional steps will have to take place before an election is called. The Options on the Table Frictions between the League and the Five Star Movement have been escalating for weeks. The final straw was an Aug. 7 vote in the Italian Senate, when Five Star Movement lawmakers voted against a project to build a high-speed train connection between Italy and France, which the League supports. Salvini met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Aug. 8 and said the League was left with little choice but to ask for a general election to appoint a new government.