Europe|Italy's Foreign Minister Will Try to Form a New Government - New York Times
Gentiloni On New Italian Government
Italy’s foreign minister, Paolo Gentiloni, will try to form a new government, hoping to lead the country out of a political crisis.
By CCTV VIA REUTERS.
Photo by Angelo Carconi/Ansa.
Watch in Times Video »
ROME — Italy’s foreign minister, Paolo Gentiloni, accepted a presidential mandate on Sunday to try to form a new government, hoping to lead Italy out of a political crisis that ensued with the resignation of Matteo Renzi as prime minister.
Mr. Renzi stepped down last week after the defeat of a referendum on constitutional changes that he had hoped would streamline Italy’s government. He staked his seat on the outcome, and failed.
In a brief speech on Sunday, Mr. Gentiloni, 62, said he had accepted the challenge of forming a new government out of a “sense of responsibility.”
“I’m aware of the urgency to give Italy a government in the fullness of its powers, to reassure the citizens and to face with utmost commitment and determination international, economic and social priorities, starting with the reconstruction of the quake-hit areas,” Mr. Gentiloni said.
In coming days, Mr. Gentiloni is expected to form a government using the same majority, led by the center-left Democratic Party, as his predecessor, and to then face a confidence vote before Parliament, perhaps as early as Tuesday.
His cabinet is likely to resemble that of Mr. Renzi, with whom he has had a close relationship. For those reasons, the opposition, anti-establishment Five Star Movement has already called Mr. Gentiloni “Renzi’s avatar.”
Mr. Gentiloni, a journalist, has long worked in center-left parties. A communications minister in Romano Prodi’s government until 2008, he has been in charge of Italy’s foreign affairs for two years.
He has advocated international support to stop violence in Libya and help for migrants who gather on those shores before risking their lives crossing the Mediterranean. This year, he lobbied with the Egyptian government to find out who was responsible for the death of a young Italian researcher in Cairo.
In his brief speech on Sunday, Mr. Gentiloni said he would work to clarify Italy’s new electoral rules “with the necessary promptness.” Disputes over the laws are a central obstacle to the country’s holding a new election.
In late January, Italy’s Constitutional Court is scheduled to issue a much-awaited verdict on the current system, which may face an overhaul.
Most of the opposition parties are calling for elections soon after, a year ahead of the due date in spring 2018. But Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella, noted at the end of his consultations with Italy’s political leaders that the Democratic Party still held a parliamentary majority.
The decision whether and when to call elections, then, will rest in the hands of Mr. Mattarella. Mr. Renzi has all but vanished from Italy’s political scene.
Soon after moving boxes of “books, clothes and notes” out of Palazzo Chigi, the prime minister’s residence, Mr. Renzi repeated that he had kept his promise to step aside if he lost the referendum, writing in a long Facebook post from his hometown in Tuscany. He also pledged to try again to reunite the country.
“Only those who change can help a country as beautiful and difficult as Italy,” he said, acknowledging his mistakes.
Continue reading the main storyUncategorized
#Uncategorized
No comments: