Italy PM nominee begins work on cabinet
Ministerial candidates must be endorsed by the president before parliamentary approval
Italy’s prime ministerial nominee Giuseppe Conte was to begin work yesterday on lining up a cabinet after being endorsed to lead a coalition government formed by antiestablishment and far-right parties.
Conte’s appointment could herald an end to more than two months of political uncertainty in the Eurozone’s third-biggest economy — but the coalition’s Euro-sceptic and anti-immigrant stance has alarmed senior European officials.
President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday approved Conte’s nomination to be prime minister of a government formed by the Five Star Movement and the anti-immigrant League, to end more than two months of political deadlock.
Five Star member Conte said he would present his cabinet line-up within “the next few days”.
The list of ministerial candidates must be endorsed by Mattarella before it can seek parliamentary approval.
Interior minister
Italian media reported that League chief Matteo Salvini would become interior minister while Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio would be in charge of the economic development ministry.
“The President of the Republic has tasked me with the role of forming a government,” Conte told reporters on Wednesday evening after a nearly two-hour meeting with President Mattarella.
The 53-year-old sought a conciliatory tone towards Europe when speaking to journalists at the presidential Quirinal palace.
“I’m aware of the necessity to confirm Italy’s place, both in Europe and internationally,” said Conte, who cast himself as the “people’s lawyer”. “My intent is to give life to a government of the people that looks after their interests. I’m ready to defend the interests of Italians in Europe and internationally, maintaining dialogue with European institutions and representatives of other countries.”