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Italian president set to ask Matteo Renzi to form new government | Italian president set to ask Matteo Renzi to form new government |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Matteo Renzi, the 39-year-old mayor of Florence and centre-left leader, is expected to be asked by Italy's president to form a new government on Monday after he orchestrated a party revolt to oust the prime minister, Enrico Letta. | Matteo Renzi, the 39-year-old mayor of Florence and centre-left leader, is expected to be asked by Italy's president to form a new government on Monday after he orchestrated a party revolt to oust the prime minister, Enrico Letta. |
The Democratic party (PD) chief, who will become Italy's youngest ever prime minister if he is able to form a government, will meet the head of state, Giorgio Napolitano, at the presidential palace at 10.30am local time. On Sunday he was warned he must listen to the demands of the centre-right party likely to be his major coalition partner or risk not having its support in parliament. | |
"If we say no, the government will not be born," Angelino Alfano, leader of the New Centre Right (NCD) and deputy prime minister in the Letta government, wrote on Twitter, describing the party's role as "decisive". Alfano, who broke with the former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi last year, has said Renzi should present a written coalition pact covering NCD priorities such as tax cuts. | |
Then, he said, the new coalition government would be in a strong position to push forward reforms, rather than pursuing "the politics of rancour" that he said Berlusconi favoured with his Forza Italia party. | |
"If the programme is not centre-left … if the programme respects the centre-right, we will be not reformers but revolutionaries, because we have a great ambition … which is to do ourselves the liberal revolution that for 20 years failed with Berlusconi," Alfano told a party rally. | "If the programme is not centre-left … if the programme respects the centre-right, we will be not reformers but revolutionaries, because we have a great ambition … which is to do ourselves the liberal revolution that for 20 years failed with Berlusconi," Alfano told a party rally. |
On Saturday Berlusconi, who was convicted of tax fraud last August, said his party would behave "responsibly" in opposition and would keep to agreements on electoral law reform already struck with Renzi. | On Saturday Berlusconi, who was convicted of tax fraud last August, said his party would behave "responsibly" in opposition and would keep to agreements on electoral law reform already struck with Renzi. |
But the going looks tough for Renzi, who has faced strong criticism from both opponents and long-term supporters for the way in which he engineered Letta's removal and looks set to take the reins without an election being held. | But the going looks tough for Renzi, who has faced strong criticism from both opponents and long-term supporters for the way in which he engineered Letta's removal and looks set to take the reins without an election being held. |
The process of presidential consultations for the new government, held over Friday and Saturday, was boycotted as undemocratic by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement led by the former comic Beppe Grillo, and by the rightwing Northern League. | The process of presidential consultations for the new government, held over Friday and Saturday, was boycotted as undemocratic by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement led by the former comic Beppe Grillo, and by the rightwing Northern League. |
Observers say Renzi's choice of ministers will be crucial, particularly that of finance minister, with a bold lineup needed if the slow pace of reform is to be picked up. | Observers say Renzi's choice of ministers will be crucial, particularly that of finance minister, with a bold lineup needed if the slow pace of reform is to be picked up. |
Fabrizio Saccomani, who filled the role under Letta, said reforming Italy's lumbering economy would be far from easy. "In Italy there is growing impatience because everyone wants to see a rapid turnaround in growth and in job creation, especially for the young," Saccomanni told SkyTG24 television. "These are necessities that I fully agree with and that I fought for, but one must understand that Italy's economy is like a giant oil tanker that cannot turn on a dime." | |
It was confirmed last week that the eurozone's third-largest economy had grown by 0.1% in the last quarter of 2013, its first sign of growth since its worst post-war recession began in 2011. | It was confirmed last week that the eurozone's third-largest economy had grown by 0.1% in the last quarter of 2013, its first sign of growth since its worst post-war recession began in 2011. |
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