- Title: Italians react to Gentiloni's government mandate
- Date: 11th December 2016
- Summary: ROME, ITALY (DECEMBER 11, 2016) (REUTERS) SOLDIERS ON GUARD OUTSIDE PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATE PAOLO GENTILONI'S HOUSE SOLDIER NEXT TO BUZZER AND SIGN READING "STUDIO GENTILONI SILVERI - CRIMINAL LAW" PEOPLE WALKING IN STREET PEOPLE OUTSIDE CHURCH TRAFFIC IN FRONT OF CHURCH (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) ROME RESIDENT SANTI DI BERNARDO SAYING: "What comes to the choice, I think it's the right one in this moment, considering that the choice was between Gentiloni and the other minister. I think this may be the right decision because Italy needs stability and he is a person who can give that stability to Italy right now. But it's a temporary choice of course. It's a question of a couple of months and then everything will change, we'll need the new electoral law and then go to elections." (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) ROME RESIDENT BRUNA SEVERI SAYING: "It's not right, we Italians need to vote, it needs to be us choosing the premier, not them telling us who they've chosen. We are tired of this." (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) ROME RESIDENT ROBERTO PETILLO SAYING: "He is a typical character coming from the institutions. He doesn't arouse enthusiasm among the people so I don't think he will leave a tangible legacy. He will go away the same way he got in. He is a fairly anonymous person with little visibility." (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) ROME RESIDENT SANDRA PROSSER SAYING: "What do I think? It's all been a little too fast. As always, we are back to the higher powers making the call and the people having to abide by their decisions. The people have zero power. I hope that we will finally go to the polls." (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) ROME RESIDENT ANDREA MERCURI SAYING: "I think we are back to square one, nothing's changed and we'll just keep going on as before, unfortunately." SOLDIERS ON GUARD OUTSIDE GENTILONI'S HOUSE MEDIA WAITING OUTSIDE GENTILONI'S HOUSE TRAFFIC IN THE STREET
- Embargoed: 26th December 2016 15:41
- Keywords: Italian President Sergio Mattarella Paolo Gentiloni prime minister mandate government
- Location: ROME, ITALY
- City: ROME, ITALY
- Country: Italy
- Reuters ID: LVA0015CFUV5Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The soft-spoken son of an aristocratic family, Paolo Gentiloni is set to become Italy's fifth prime minister in as many years, promoted thanks to his unwavering loyalty to outgoing premier Matteo Renzi.
Paolo Gentiloni Silveri was born in November 1954 to a noble, Roman Catholic family. As a high-school student drawn to radical leftist politics, he dropped his double-barrelled surname.
The name is still is visible on a plaque advertising legal services outside his house in central Rome, now guarded by armed soldiers.
Two years into the foreign minister's job, Gentiloni was asked by President Sergio Mattarella on Sunday (December 11) to form a new government tasked with tackling much-need electoral reform and a seemingly unending crisis in the banking sector.
He will need to win confidence votes in parliament, expected this week, to take office and even after overcoming that hurdle, he might only survive a few months, with many political chiefs demanding elections as soon as a new electoral law is approved.
Many locals are also calling for early elections.
"What comes to the choice, I think it's the right one in this moment, considering that the choice was between Gentiloni and the other minister. I think this may be the right decision because Italy needs stability and he is a person who can give that stability to Italy right now. But it's a temporary choice of course. It's a question of a couple of months and then everything will change, we'll need the new electoral law and then go to elections," said local resident Santi Di Bernardo.
"It's not right, we Italians need to vote, it needs to be us choosing the premier, not them telling us who they've chosen. We are tired of this," another Rome resident, Bruna Severi, said.
"What do I think? It's all been a little too fast. As always, we are back to the higher powers making the call and the people having to abide by their decisions. The people have zero power. I hope that we will finally go to the polls," added Sandra Prosser.
As leader of the largest party in parliament, Renzi had a decisive say in who should replace him, and will have to keep the new administration alive. Critics say he chose the low-key Gentiloni to keep control from behind the scenes.
"He is a typical character coming from the institutions. He doesn't arouse enthusiasm among the people so I don't think he will leave a tangible legacy. He will go away the same way he got in. He is a fairly anonymous person with little visibility," said Rome resident Roberto Petillo.
Diplomats say that as foreign minister, Gentiloni has dealt competently with a number of difficult events, such as the killing of student Giulio Regeni in Egypt, the chaos in neighbouring Libya and the ongoing migration crisis.
Still, some in the Italian capital say little will change with Gentiloni's mandate.
"I think we are back to square one, nothing's changed and we'll just keep going on as before, unfortunately," said Andrea Mercuri.
Elections are not due until 2018 but could be called as soon as parliament finishes rewriting the electoral law. Gentiloni said he would "facilitate, if possible, the parliamentary forces' task of quickly defining new electoral rules".
Commentators said that if Gentiloni's consultations with politicians to form a government go well, he could return to the presidential palace as early as Sunday night or Monday (December 12) morning to present his list of proposed cabinet members to the head of state.
Once his cabinet is sworn in by the president, the government will then face votes of confidence in both houses of parliament. The ruling coalition, headed by the PD, has a majority in both so Gentiloni could win the votes in time to attend a European Union meeting on Thursday (December 15) as prime minister. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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