Italy inches closer to new govt as parties haggle
Tense talks aimed at forming a new Italian government inched forward yesterday as two major political parties, struggling to bury years of hostility and avoid snap elections, agreed to re-install Giuseppe Conte as prime minister.
The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the opposition centre-left Democratic Party (PD) entered formal coalition talks after a ruling alliance between 5-Star and the right-wing League party collapsed this month after prolonged infighting.
The talks, which remain tense and could still break down, had been at risk of collapse over who should be named prime minister but the PD confirmed yesterday that it had dropped its opposition to Conte, removing one big barrier to a deal.
The PD’s leader also secured the backing of the party’s executive yesterday to forge an alliance with 5-Star, despite a history of bitter relations between the two political rivals.
“We decided to agree to Conte as prime minister because that was what 5-Star wanted,” PD boss Nicola Zingaretti said.
Both sides have yet to agree on other top government posts or reveal a common policy agenda, with only hours remaining before an effective Wednesday evening deadline for a deal.
President Sergio Mattarella has asked them to report back to him on progress later in the day. If they fail to strike a deal, he is expected to name a caretaker government and call elections as early as October.
The focus of talks are now shifting to the role of deputy prime minister. The PD wants this job for one of its own, now that it has agreed to Conte staying on as prime minister.
Even in the event of a deal, another potentially major roadblock remains. The 5-Star announced in a blog post on Tuesday that any deal would need to be approved by an online vote of its members.
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