Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will address the Senate on Aug. 20 over the political crisis sweeping the government after his coalition partner the far-right League filed a no-confidence motion in the administration.

In a setback for League leader Matteo Salvini, the Senate voted on Tuesday not to hold an immediate no-confidence vote, but instead played for time and decided to allow Conte to speak to the upper house beforehand.

Rightist parties supported Salvini’s request for a debate on Wednesday, but the ruling 5-Star Movement backed by opposition centre-left parliamentarians defeated the bid, thereby seizing the initiative over the timetable of the crisis.