Populist newcomer gets shot at forming Italy government

ROME — Italy’s president asked political neophyte Giuseppe Conte to try to form a government Wednesday, giving the euroskeptic 5-Star movement and anti-immigrant League a shot at running western Europe’s first populist government.

Conte, a law professor who never has held political office, met with President Sergio Mattarella for nearly two hours amid concern in Brussels and markets made skittish by the possibility of Europe’s third-largest economy taking an isolationist turn.

Conte, 53, immediately sought to reassure international allies, confirming Italy’s place and commitments in Europe and acknowledging the “delicate and difficult phase” the European Union was entering with budget negotiations looming.

But the prime ministerdesignate — the first ever from the upstart, anti-establishment 5-Star Movement — also said he was committed to implementing a government program agreed to by the 5-Star and League leadership that calls for an immigration crackdown and budgetbusting measures to help ordinary Italians.

“I will be the defense lawyer of the Italian people,” he said in brief remarks at the presidential palace before departing in a taxi.

With a mandate in hand, Conte must now huddle with the 5-Stars and League to finalize a list of Cabinet ministers to present to Mattarella. Once the Conte-headed government is sworn in, its policy agenda would be put to confidence votes in both houses of parliament, where the two blocs have a slight majority.

The anti-establishment 5-Stars and anti-immigrant League proposed Conte as their compromise candidate for prime minister Monday after inconclusive March 4 national elections led to a hung parliament and more than two months of political deadlock.

Questions immediately swirled over Conte’s qualifications. His legal expertise is in civil and commercial law, and his published resume suggests he padded his academic credentials at elite international universities where he never taught or enrolled.

Financial markets have reacted nervously to the 5-Star/League program, which includes a basic income for needy Italians and a two-tier flat tax that is expected to add to Italy’s debt load, already Europe’s heaviest after Greece.

European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis warned Italy on Wednesday to rein its government debt, which is over 130 percent of gross domestic product.

Both 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio and League leader Matteo Salvini have stood by Conte and sought to reassure markets and EU officials in Brussels. However, they have also noted that Italians voted in large numbers for a tougher approach to the EU in terms of budget negotiations, deporting migrants and improving dialogue with Russia.

“A government of change is about to begin,” Di Maio said in a Facebook Live broadcast. “It’s important to enjoy this moment.”