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| Photo: AP |
"Bravo, the coalition of Matteo Salvini’s Lega party [and the M5S led by Di Maio], which has ultimately formed a new Italian government. It is a victory for democracy over the intimidation and threats from the European Union. Nothing will stop nations from returning to the scene of history," Le Pen wrote on Twitter.
On Thursday, lawyer Giuseppe Conte was ordered to form a new government after Prime Minister-Designate Carlo Cottarelli returned the respective mandate to Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Later, Conte announced the composition of his cabinet, appointing Lega party leader Matteo Salvini as interior minister, and M5S head Luigi Di Maio as minister of labor and economic development.
The two politicians will also assume the posts of deputy prime ministers. The swearing-in ceremony for the new government is expected to be held later on Friday.
The formation of the coalition government led by Conte paves the way for the end of the political turmoil in Italy, caused by the March 4 inconclusive parliamentary election.
Last week, Mattarella rejected the list of potential members of the government proposed by Conte and supported by the M5S and the Lega party. The main obstacle was the president’s opposition to the candidacy of anti-Euro Paolo Savona to head the Economy Ministry. Both the Lega and the M5S criticized the president's rejection of their proposal, while Maio proposed discussing Mattarella’s impeachment.
On Monday, Mattarella appointed economist Cottarelli, a former senior official at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as an interim prime minister. Most parliamentary parties, however, stated that they would not express confidence in Cottarelli's future government, which prompted the prime minister-designate to return his mandate to form a new government to the president.
The Italian parliamentary election was held on March 4 and resulted in the M5S securing more than 32 percent of the vote. The center-right coalition, consisting of the Lega party, Forza Italia and the Brothers of Italy movement, got 37 percent of the vote. The Democratic Party won about 20 percent of the vote. None of the parties obtained the majority required to form a one-party government.
