Conte ‘gives back mandate’ to form government after president rejects ministerial candidate
Angela Giuffrida in Rome and agencies
Italy’s prime minister-designate has told the president he has been unable to form what would have been western Europe’s first populist government, potentially paving the way for fresh elections.
A presidential palace official told reporters on Sunday night that Giuseppe Conte “has given back the mandate” to try to form a government that President Sergio Mattarella gave him four days earlier.
Conte, a little-known law professor with no political experience, took his list of ministers to Mattarella, but the president rejected Conte’s candidate to the economy ministry, the 81-year-old Eurosceptic economist Paolo Savona. Mattarella is staunchly pro-Europe.
Conte said he tried his hardest to form a government and had full cooperation from would-be coalition partners, the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and League parties.
In a terse comment to reporters after he relinquished the presidential mandate, Conte said he “gave the maximum effort, attention, to carry out this task”.
Before Conte or Mattarella had finished their meeting, far-right League leader Matteo Salvini said the only option now was to hold another election, probably later this year, without directly confirming the president’s veto.
“In a democracy, if we are still in democracy, there’s only one thing to do, let the Italians have their say,” Salvini said in a fiery speech to supporters in central Italy.