- Title: Italy president mandates foreign minister to form new government
- Date: 11th December 2016
- Summary: ROME, ITALY (DECEMBER 11, 2016) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF QUIRINALE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE ITALIAN AND EUROPEAN UNION FLAGS OUTSIDE QUIRINALE PALACE VARIOUS OF ITALIAN HONOUR GUARDS IN FRONT OF DOOR PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATE PAOLO GENTILONI COMING THROUGH DOOR AND WALKING TO PODIUM TO ADDRESS MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATE PAOLO GENTILONI SAYING: "Hello. I thank the president for the mandate he has given me which I consider a great honour. I will try and carry out my duty with dignity and responsibility." MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATE PAOLO GENTILONI SAYING: "What emerged from the consultations was the confirmation of the decision by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi not to accept another position, which is what he had said several times during the referendum campaign. This position merits respect from everybody." MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATE PAOLO GENTILONI SAYING: "Furthermore, the consultations showed the unwillingness of the main opposition forces to share responsibility in a new government. So not by choice, but out of a sense of responsibility, we move within the same framework as the outgoing government and outgoing majority. I am conscious of the urgent need to give Italy a government with full powers, to reassure our fellow citizens, to confront our international, economic and social priorities with the maximum commitment and determination, beginning with the reconstruction of the areas hit by earthquakes." MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATE PAOLO GENTILONI SAYING: "I will speak again with the president as early as possible. Thank you." GENTILONI WALKING AWAY
- Embargoed: 26th December 2016 13:30
- Keywords: Italian President Sergio Mattarella Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni prime minister mandate government
- Location: ROME, ITALY
- City: ROME, ITALY
- Country: Italy
- Reuters ID: LVA0015CFUUDJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Italy's president on Sunday (December 11) gave Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni a mandate to try to form the country's new government.
Gentiloni said he would try to form the government as soon as possible and that it would move "within the same framework" as the outgoing government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
"Hello. I thank the president for the mandate he has given me which I consider a great honour. I will try and carry out my duty with dignity and responsibility," he said after meeting with President Sergio Mattarella.
The 62-year-old prime-minister designate is a key member of Renzi's Democratic Party.
Renzi resigned on Wednesday (December 8) after losing a referendum on constitutional reform on which he had staked his job.
"What emerged from the consultations was the confirmation of the decision by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi not to accept another position, which is what he had said several times during the referendum campaign. This position merits respect from everybody," Gentiloni told journalists.
Gentiloni will now select his ministers. He is expected to return to the presidential palace as early as Sunday night or Monday (December 12) morning to present his cabinet list to the head of state.
Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) has a majority in both houses of parliament but the PD itself is severely divided between Renzi backers, such as Gentiloni, and opponents.
Italy's social and political divisions were laid bare during campaigning for the referendum on constitutional reform which was roundly rejected on Dec. 4. Renzi has said he does not want to take up a position in the new government.
All major parties have called for elections as soon as possible. But before any vote can take place, Mattarella has said Italy needs a new electoral law to replace one that applies only to the lower house and could be declared illegitimate in January by the Constitutional Court.
Elections are not due until 2018, but could be called as soon as parliament finishes rewriting the electoral law. Gentiloni said he would "ease, if possible, the parliamentary forces' task of quickly defining new electoral rules".
"Furthermore, the consultations showed the unwillingness of the main opposition forces to share responsibility in a new government. So not by choice, but out of a sense of responsibility, we move within the same framework as the outgoing government and outgoing majority. I am conscious of the urgent need to give Italy a government with full powers, to reassure our fellow citizens, to confront our international, economic and social priorities with the maximum commitment and determination, beginning with the reconstruction of the areas hit by earthquakes," said Gentiloni.
He must report back to Mattarella on his progress in rallying support and, if he cannot assemble political backing for a new government, Mattarella could ask someone else to try.
If Gentiloni succeeds, a new government could be installed within days. The process is familiar in Italy, where several of the 63 governments sworn in over the past 70 years have fallen. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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