Italian President Sergio Mattarella invited Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni to the Quirinal Palace, the official presidential residence, on December 11, where he offered the latter to form the Cabinet and held talks with him. Gentiloni, who is a Democrat ally of the previous prime minister, will replace Matteo Renzi, who resigned after a referendum vote rejected his proposed constitutional amendments. “Consultations showed the unwillingness of major opposition forces to share responsibilities in a new government. Therefore, not by choice but out of sense of responsibility, we will move within the framework of the outgoing government and majority,” said Gentiloni, and made it clear that the government could be formed as soon as in a few days.
By the way, the choice of Gentiloni for prime minister allowed President Sergio Mattarella to keep Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan in office. The new head of government, who is 62 years old, worked as a professional journalist, served as the spokesman for the mayor of Rome, the minister of communications, and has repeatedly been elected as an MP, at first from the party Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy, which subsequently joined the Democratic Party.
Experts say that Gentiloni and Renzi are like-minded persons, and therefore the change of the head of the Cabinet is considered unlikely to change Italy’s foreign policy.
“A NEW LEGISLATIVE ELECTION IS EXPECTED TO OCCUR SOMETIME IN MID-2017”
Yevhen PERELYHIN, Ambassador of Ukraine to the Italian Republic, Rome:
“On December 11 this year, the head of the Italian state asked Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Paolo Gentiloni to form the new Italian government after the leadership of the Democratic Party retained its majority in parliament. Gentiloni has identified preparing a new electoral platform, which will allow the country to hold an early election, as the main task of the transitional government. It is expected that the new government will include most of the serving ministers (that is, it will be ‘the Renzi Cabinet without Renzi himself’). At the moment, the likely development of domestic political situation in Italy looks as follows: once the Constitutional Court announces its verdict on the new electoral law, known as the Italicum law (which will most likely happen in February 2017), and the Italian parliament agrees on new ‘old’ electoral rules, the parliament will be dissolved and an early legislative election held. Therefore, a new election is expected to occur sometime in 2017.”
