Italian populists signal progress toward forming government

MILAN — The populist leaders of the 5-Star Movement and the League announced progress Thursday toward forming a new Italian government after two months of political stalemate.

The breakthrough came days after Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella, indicated that, given the rounds of fruitless consultations, he would form a “neutral government” — something both parties are determined to avoid. Neither won enough to govern alone in the inconclusive March 4 elections that created a hung parliament, but they have been stymied in reaching a coalition deal largely over the role of former Premier Silvio Berlusconi in any government.

League leader Matteo Salvini, who heads a centre-right bloc, and 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio said in a joint statement after a face-to-face meeting in Rome that they had made “significant progress” on the composition of the Cabinet and on identifying a candidate for the post of premier to bring to Mattarella. Italian media reported that the parties had asked to have through the weekend to work on a deal.

The progress reflected a shift in Berlusconi’s role in a new government. Di Maio had steadfastly refused any government including Berlusconi, who is ineligible for public office due to a tax fraud conviction and has a long history of legal battles over his business and private life.

Wolfango Piccoli, the co-founder of Teneo Intelligence consultancy, said he expected any 5Star-League government to be short-lived, with new elections likely to take place in the spring of 2019. “The lack of familiarity (with each other) and government experience, together with the likely limited lifespan of the coalition government, will somewhat constrain the capacity of the new executive to follow through on their more outlandish campaign pledges.”