Italian PM nominee in talks to form Cabinet

After Giuseppe Conte was endorsed to lead a populist coalition government.

FILE PHOTO: Newly appointed Italy Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte speaks to the media after a consultation with President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo

Italy’s Prime Ministerial nominee Giuseppe Conte on Thursday began lining up a Cabinet after being endorsed to lead a populist coalition government.

Mr. Conte’s appointment could herald an end to more than two months of political uncertainty in the eurozone’s third-biggest economy — but the coalition’s eurosceptic and anti-immigrant stance has alarmed senior European officials.

President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday approved Mr. Conte’s nomination to be Prime Minister of a government formed by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the far-right League.

‘Within few days’

On Thursday, Mr. Conte was locked in consultations with delegations from political parties in order to put together the country’s new government. He said he would present his Cabinet line-up within “the next few days”.

The list of ministerial candidates must be endorsed by Mattarella before it can seek parliamentary approval.

Italian media reported that League chief Matteo Salvini would become Interior Minister, while Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio would be in charge of the Economic Development Ministry.