REUTERS - Italian President
Sergio Mattarella asked Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni on Sunday to try to
form a new government, giving him a mandate to lead
Italy out of a political
crisis caused by the resignation of Matteo Renzi.
Gentiloni, a
62-year-old former journalist and Renzi loyalist, is set to be Italy's fifth
prime minister in as many years and the fourth in a row to take office without
winning a national election.
He immediately began
consultations with politicians to form a government which will have the
pressing tasks of writing a new electoral law and propping up Italy's fragile
banks.
"I am aware of
the urgent need to give Italy a government with full powers, to reassure our
fellow citizens, to confront our international, economic and social priorities
with the maximum commitment and determination," he said minutes after
Mattarella conferred the mandate.
Italy's social and
political divisions were laid bare during campaigning for a Dec. 4 referendum
on constitutional reform which was roundly rejected, prompting Renzi to resign
because he had staked his job on it.
All major parties
have called for elections as soon as possible. But before any vote can take
place, Mattarella has said Italy needs a new electoral law to replace one that
applies only to the lower house and could be declared illegitimate in January
by the Constitutional Court.
Elections are not
due until 2018 but could be called as soon as parliament finishes rewriting the
electoral law. Gentiloni said he would "facilitate, if possible, the
parliamentary forces' task of quickly defining new electoral rules".
Commentators said
that if his consultations go well, he could return to the presidential palace
as early as Sunday night or Monday morning to present his list of proposed
cabinet members to the head of state.
"It doesn't
matter if it's resolved tonight or tomorrow. The important thing is that the
markets already know that with Gentiloni there will be no radical change,"
said Maurizio Caprara, a commentator for Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Gentiloni said his
government would move "within the same framework" as the outgoing
government but Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) is itself severely divided between
backers of the former prime minister, such as Gentiloni, and opponents.
Once his cabinet is
sworn in by the president, the government will then face votes of confidence in
both houses of parliament. The ruling coalition, headed by the PD, has a
majority in both so Gentiloni could win the votes in time to attend a European
Union meeting on Thursday as prime minister.
The next prime
minister will have to deal quickly with the country's third-largest lender,
Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which may need state intervention to avoid collapse.
Opposition parties
such as the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and former prime minister Silvio
Berlusconi's center-right group refused to take part in national unity
government.
"Enough of
governments that descend from above, enough of Renzi's avatars ... the Italian
people can't stand this any more!" Alessandro Di Battista, a 5-Star
leader, wrote on Twitter.
REUTERS
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