ROME: Italian Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte has failed to form a coalition government and resigned after President Sergio Mattarella vetoed his choice of economy minister.

Conte and Mattarella had met on Sunday to discuss officials selected by the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement and the rightist League to comprise the new government cabinet for Italy, which has been without a government for 84 days, reports Efe news.

The coalition had wanted to place 81-year-old economist Paolo Savona in charge of Italy's economy, although the former industry minister has been a key figure in questioning Italy's participation in the eurozone and the budgetary restrictions the European Union requires of its members.

Mattarella expressed his doubts about Savona although the 5 Star Movement and the League refused to back down from their choice, thus creating a standoff, given that Italy's president must approve a government's ministerial picks.

Mattarella ultimately refused to back the so-called "euroskeptic" for the economy portfolio.

In response, the 5 Star Movement chief Luigi di Maio announced that the party will launch within Parliament a move to oust Mattarella for having impeded the formation of the government by vetoing Savona and refusing to sign the list of ministers presented by the coalition.

Mattarella's decision sparked an unprecedented institutional crisis, with strong opposition being mounted by the 5 Star Movement and the League, which garnered more than 50 per cent of the votes in the March 4 national elections.

Other political forces, however, citing his constitutional presidential prerogatives to protect Italian markets and savers, have rallied to Mattarella's defence.

Conte, a law professor who had been named as the coalition's prime minister, resigned, telling reporters that he "gave the maximum effort, attention, to carry out this task with the full collaboration" of both the 5 Star Movement and League. </s> MILAN (Reuters) - Italy’s Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte has given up on efforts to form a government, a top official in President Sergio Mattarella’s office said on Sunday.

The comments were read out following a meeting between Conte and Mattarella to discuss the list of cabinet candidates the would-be coalition partners, the far-right League and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, were proposing.

Earlier on Sunday a source said Mattarella had rejected the name of Paolo Savona, the eurosceptic candidate whom the League/5-Star coalition had put forward to head the Economy Ministry. </s> Giuseppe Conte, Italy's prime minister-designate, has abandoned his mandate to form a new government, the presidential palace has said.

The announcement on Sunday came after a meeting between Conte and Italian President Sergio Mattarella to discuss a proposed list of cabinet members, in what would have been Italy's first populist government.

Earlier on Sunday, it was reported Mattarella had rejected the eurosceptic candidacy of Paolo Savona for the post of minister of economy. </s> Giuseppe Conte was sworn in as prime minister of Italy’s new populist government Friday after a last-ditch coalition deal ended months of political deadlock and narrowly avoided snap elections in the euro zone’s third largest economy.

Conte, an academic and political novice, will head a government of ministers from the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the far-right League party.

The first populist coalition in a founding member nation of the European Union has raised concerns in some European quarters.

The 53-year-old was sworn in along with his cabinet, which will place M5S leader Luigi Di Maio and League chief Matteo Salvini in key ministerial posts.

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After weeks of political drama that at one stage seemed certain to lead to new elections, President Sergio Mattarella named Conte, a political novice, as prime minister for the second time in less than a fortnight and approved his revised cabinet.

Conte had abandoned his original mandate as prime minister on Sunday after Mattarella vetoed Paolo Savona as economy minister because of his hostility to the euro, prompting the collapse of the Five Star-League joint government deal.

But in a surprise twist, the populists resurrected the coalition talks and Conte eventually accepted a new mandate for the premiership.

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He presented Mattarella with a revised list of ministers – with Savona moved to EU Affairs – that the head of state quickly accepted.

Italian media reported that the line-up will face a vote of confidence on Monday or Tuesday in both houses of parliament, which it is almost certain to win thanks to the populists’ combined majority. </s> Giuseppe Conte was sworn in as prime minister of Italy’s new populist government today after a last-ditch coalition deal ended months of political deadlock and narrowly avoided snap elections in the eurozone’s third largest economy.

Conte, an academic and political novice, will head a government of ministers from the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the far-right League Party. The first populist coalition in a founding EU member has raised concerns in some European quarters.

The 53-year-old was sworn in alongside his cabinet, which will see M5S leader Luigi Di Maio and League chief Matteo Salvini in key ministerial posts.

After weeks of political drama that had at one stage seemed certain to lead to new elections, President Sergio Mattarella named political novice Conte as prime minister for the second time in less than a fortnight and approved his revised cabinet.

Conte had abandoned his original mandate as PM on Sunday after Mattarella vetoed eurosceptic Paolo Savona as economy minister, prompting the collapse the Five Star-League joint government deal collapsed.

But in a surprise twist, the populists resurrected the coalition talks and Conte eventually accepted a new mandate for the premiership. He presented Mattarella with a revised list of ministers – with Savona moved to EU Affairs – that the head of state quickly accepted.

Italian media reported that the lineup will face a vote of confidence on Monday or Tuesday in both houses of parliament, which it is almost certain to win thanks to the populists’ combined majority. </s> ROME — Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday asked Giuseppe Conte to oversee the creation of a new government, a senior presidential aide said.

“I propose to be the defense lawyer of the Italian people,” Conte said. He said he had accepted the president’s invitation and was “fully aware of the challenges we face.”

“Outside of here there is a country that is awaiting the birth of a new government and is expecting answers.”

“The government that will be formed will be a government for change,” he said.

Conte will now draw up a list of Cabinet ministers and submit the names to the president, who must give his approval before the team takes office.

The little-known law professor was put forward for the country’s top job on Monday by the anti-establishment 5Star Movement and the far-right League.

Criticism of Conte focused on his lack of political experience and accusations that he embellished his CV.

It’s taken the best part of three months to come up with a coalition deal, with the 5Stars and League overcoming their differences after the president threatened to form a “neutral” government led by technocrats in order to break the impasse.

Mattarella, who had raised doubts about having a professor with limited political experience at the head of a populist Cabinet, could still push back against the choices for ministerial positions. The most controversial potential appointment is that of a new finance minister. The League has been pushing for that role to go to Paolo Savona, a former minister who is a fierce critic of the euro.

Savona’s appointment would be a sign that Mattarella has given in on even the most controversial requests from the two parties, raising doubts about his ability to steer the entire process, an Italian official said. Italian news agencies reported Wednesday that an investment fund that Savona chaired has announced his resignation because of “important public commitments in Italy,” which could be an indication of his impending appointment as a minister.

The new government “contract” struck by the parties is an ambitious manifesto based on ideas and electoral promises that they have been championing for years. It includes cutting taxes, amending a costly 2011 pension reform and introducing a “universal basic income,” a kind of insurance for job-seekers. However, analysts reckon the new government’s plans will be complicated by institutional and financial constraints and the bureaucratic inertia that has often stopped Italian governments in their tracks.

Even though the two parties toned down their Euroskeptic stances of late, a 5Star-League government will likely maintain a strong Euroskeptic line and seek confrontation with Brussels on key themes, such as eurozone economic governance, the EU budget, Russia sanctions and migration.

Before Wednesday evening’s announcement, the 5Stars called for action if Conte was not given a mandate. One of the 5Star leaders, Alessandro Di Battista, went on Facebook to “invite all citizens to make their voice heard.”

Officials in Rome said that Mattarella’s powers would be further eroded if the 5Stars called for supporters to storm the presidential palace every time he has a delicate decision to make. </s> ROME — Italy’s political landscape grew even shakier Sunday after the president refused to approve a proposed Cabinet minister with views critical of the euro currency and the premier-designate quit his bid to form a populist coalition government.

After being summoned to and emerging from the Quirinal presidential palace, Premiere-Designate Giuseppe Conte did not say why he couldn’t form what would have been Western Europe’s first populist government.

But Italian President Sergio Mattarella told the nation minutes later he had refused to accept the nominee put forward by the euroskeptic League and 5-Star Movement parties as economy minister.

League leader Matteo Salvini in recent days had virtually given an ultimatum over the economy minister pick to Mattarella, whose duties as head of state include sanctioning a new Cabinet.

The president said he approved all of the other Cabinet picks, but rejected the coalition partners’ choice for the economy portfolio out of concern it would have a negative effect on financial markets and the Italian economy.

The economy ministry “always constitutes an immediate message of trust or alarm” for financial markets, Mattarella said, adding that he had asked for someone who was not “supporting a position expressed more than once that could probably, or in fact inevitably, provoke Italy’s exit from the euro.”

Mattarella said he was considering political party leaders’ request for another election and would announce his next move “in the next hours.”

The previous parliamentary election, held March 4, failed to produce a party with enough support to govern singlehandedly. League leader Salvini and fellow euroskeptic Luigi Di Maio of the 5-Star Movement agreed this month to join their rival forces in a coalition to break the political impasse.

With neither of them willing to back the other as premier, however, they ended up tapping political novice Conte, a law professor at the University of Florence and a 5-Star supporter.

A presidential palace official, Ugo Zampetti, told reporters Sunday night that Conte “has given back the mandate” Mattarella gave him four days earlier to try to form a government.

While Conte held his final talks with the president, Salvini was telling right-wing supporters he had refused to submit to a presidential veto of his choice for economy minister, Paolo Savona.

Savona is a former industry minister who has questioned whether Italy at some point should ditch the euro as its official currency,

Anticipating Mattarella’s decision, Salvini seethed. “We’re not a free country,” he said at a political rally. “We’ve got limited sovereignty.”

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Earlier Sunday, an Italian economics-focused website, scenarieconomici.it, carried a statement from Savona that appeared aimed at assuaging doubts about his commitment to the euro currency and the European Union’s rules.

“I want a different Europe, stronger but fairer,” Savona was quoted as saying.

Di Maio also scathingly criticized Mattarella’s veto of Savona as “incomprehensible.”

“This is not a free democracy,” Di Maio said.

Di Maio’s Movement is the largest party in the new Parliament but remains far short of having an absolute majority.

Italy’s outgoing economy minister, Pier Carlo Padoan, said in a TV interview Sunday that the real problem isn’t Savona, whom he described as having a good background for the post.

Instead, what Padoan finds worrisome is the “clearly unsustainable” platform of a populist government “that doesn’t rule out a Plan B: that is, in the face of European pressures, one must leave Europe.” </s> Italy to have first populist government as Giuseppe Conte asked to be prime minister again

Italy's president has tapped politically inexperienced law professor Giuseppe Conte to be the man who will head Italy's first populist government.

Italy's anti-establishment parties revived their coalition plans, ending three months of political turmoil by announcing a government that promises to increase spending, challenge European Union fiscal rules and crack down on immigration.

The coalition deal, following inconclusive elections in March, removes the risk of a repeat vote, a prospect that had sparked a big selloff in Italian financial markets this week.

The leaders of the right-wing League and the 5-Star Movement patched up their alliance after agreeing to substitute a eurosceptic they had initially proposed as economy minister, a nomination that had been rejected by the head of state.

"All the conditions have been fulfilled for a political, 5-Star and League government," 5-Star chief Luigi Di Maio and League leader Matteo Salvini said in a joint statement after several hours of talks in central Rome.

Just a few hours later their chosen prime minister Mr Conte, a little-known law professor who belongs to neither party and has not been elected, presented his list of ministers after receiving his second mandate in eight days.

"We will work with determination to improve the quality of life of all Italians," Mr Conte told reporters at the presidential palace after meeting the head of state Sergio Mattarella.

Mr Salvini will be the interior minister and Mr Di Maio will take a powerful, newly-created joint ministry made up of the labour and industry portfolios.

Both leaders will also be deputy prime ministers and many commentators have forecast that Mr Conte will have a tough time proving he can be more than a puppet in the hands of his powerful political sponsors.

His ministers will be sworn in on Friday before the government faces votes of confidence in both houses next week.

The deal followed an extraordinary few days in which Mr Di Maio called for Mr Mattarella to be impeached, Mr Conte and another prime minister-designate were tasked to form a government and failed, before Mr Conte was reinstated on Thursday evening.

Mr Mattarella even took the step of appointing former International Monetary Fund official Carlo Cottarelli as an interim prime minister until a re-election.

The breakthrough came after the League and 5-Star agreed to drop economist Paolo Savona as their choice for economy minister.

Mr Savona, an 81-year-old economist, had said previously that Italy should have a contingency plan to abandon the euro.

He will be substituted by economics professor Giovanni Tria, another little-known figure.

Mr Savona will be in government as European affairs minister, a less powerful role but one which will still allow him to negotiate with Brussels and speak on EU issues.

No sooner had the coalition deal been announced than friction flared with Brussels over remarks by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker about Italy's impoverished south. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption Giuseppe Conte (L) presented a new list of ministers to President Sergio Mattarella

A coalition government has been agreed in Italy, ending months of uncertainty in the EU's fourth-biggest economy.

Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte presented his list of ministers to President Sergio Mattarella for the second time in a week and the new government will be sworn in on Friday.

Ministers are drawn from both the anti-establishment Five Star (M5S) and the right-wing League.

Attempts to form a technocratic government had failed.

Mr Mattarella rejected Mr Conte's original choice for economy minister but a different candidate was agreed on Thursday.

Conflict with EU not over

Analysis by BBC's James Reynolds in Rome

Four days of political and constitutional crisis are over. And a new populist government - led by law professor Giuseppe Conte - will now be sworn in.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Aiming to rule: The Five Star Movement's Luigi Di Maio (left) and the League's Matteo Salvini

In the end, the populist parties decided to back down and accept the president's veto of their original choice of a eurosceptic economy minister.

Their newly chosen minister, Giovanni Tria, is in favour of Italy's continued membership of the single currency.

But the populists' conflict with the EU is not entirely over. The M5S and the League have promised both new welfare spending and also tax cuts - which may run into conflict with the EU's spending rules.

League leader Matteo Salvini will be the interior minister. He has promised a tough new policy on migration, which may provoke arguments within Europe.

What deal was reached?

After meeting President Mattarella, Mr Conte confirmed reports that the new candidate for the key economy minister post would be economics professor Giovanni Tria.

M5S leader Luigi Di Maio and Mr Salvini said in a brief joint statement: "All the conditions have been met for a M5S-League government."

Image copyright EPA Image caption Paolo Savona will enter government after all - but not as economy minister

Other notable appointments to the new cabinet include:

Interior and Deputy Prime Minister: Matteo Salvini (League)

Industry and Deputy Prime Minister: Luigi Di Maio (M5S)

Foreign: Enzo Moavero Milanesi (independent, ex-European Affairs minister)

Defence: Elisabetta Trenta (M5S)

European affairs: Paolo Savona (independent), the controversial original choice for finance

"We will work intensely to realise our political objectives which we have already put together in our government contract," Mr Conte was quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency.

The new government is expected to be sworn in later on Friday.

After the ceremony, it will face confidence votes in both chambers of parliament, where the M5S and the League have a majority.

Italy is no stranger to political turmoil - it has had 64 governments since World War Two.

Mr Conte is taking over from Paolo Gentiloni, who led a coalition cabinet for two years.

How did we get here?

4 March: 5-Star wins 32% of the vote in the general election, with the League taking 18%.

The two populist parties eventually attempt to form a coalition, putting forward Mr Conte, a political novice, as prime minister.

28 May: Mr Conte presents his cabinet list to President Mattarella who vetoes the choice of Mr Savona as finance minister on the grounds that he is a eurosceptic. Mr Conte bows out. Both parties are furious and Mr Di Maio calls on parliament to impeach Mr Mattarella. The president asks ex-IMF economist Carlo Cottarelli to form a technocratic government until fresh elections can be held.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Carlo Cottarelli (left) was President Sergio Mattarella's choice for interim PM

30 May: Mr Cottarelli appears to suspend his own efforts to form an interim administration as Five Star and the League engage in new talks.

31 May: Mr Conte returns to the president with a new cabinet list, which is accepted.
Prime Minister designate Giuseppe Conte gives up trying to form a government after President Sergio Mattarella earlier vetoed the nomination of technocrat Paolo Savona as Minister of Finance.