Paolo
Gentiloni to be next Italian PM
The
current foreign minister is a close ally of outgoing leader Matteo
Renzi.
By JACOPO
BARIGAZZI 12/11/16, 10:46 AM CET Updated 12/11/16, 11:22 AM CET
Paolo Gentiloni is
slated to be tapped by Italy’s president on Sunday to lead the next
government in Rome.
Italian President
Sergio Mattarella will meet the current foreign minister at 12:30
today, according to a statement from the president’s office, and is
expected to ask him to become prime minister.
Gentiloni is
expected to accept “with reserve,” as is normal in such
situations, according to Italian media reports, and to try to form a
new government in time for the next EU summit on Thursday.
A Roman aristocrat
with a long career in politics, Gentiloni is close to the outgoing
prime minister and ruling Democratic Party leader, Matteo Renzi.
Renzi resigned last
week after losing a critical referendum on constitutional changes.
With Gentiloni
installed as prime minister, however, Renzi would still exert some
control over the political process, observers say.
The daily La
Repubblica reported that Gentiloni will try to form a government in
time for the next meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday.
Treasury minister
Pier Carlo Padoan will retain his position, and Gentiloni will be
replaced as foreign minister by Piero Fassino, a former minister,
according to Italian media reports.
“I really go back
home” Renzi wrote in a long post on Facebook.
The new government
faces an immediate financial challenge in the wake of Friday‘s news
that the European Central Bank had rejected a request from Italy’s
ailing third-largest lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena for extra time
to raise €5 billion to turn itself around.
Authors:
Jacopo Barigazzi
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário