BERLIN, May 24 (Reuters) - The German government on Thursday voiced concern about anti-European statements made by members of Italy's incoming governing coalition, and the BDI industry association urged Rome to stick to European Union treaties and euro zone budget rules.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday gave political novice Giuseppe Conte a mandate to lead the first government in Italy made up of anti-establishment parties that have vowed to shake up the EU.

"More than ever before, Europe needs a reliable Italian partner who, as before, sees its place in the heart of Europe and not in the deceptive security of nationalism," Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Roth told Spiegel magazine.

The magazine reported him as saying many statements from members of the incoming coalition were "cause for concern".

Italy had been deadlocked since an inconclusive election in March. After weeks of fruitless talks between the various parties, 5-Star and the League finally agreed to a government pact last Friday, promising to hike taxes and jack up spending.

Roth's comments were echoed by Germany's BDI industry association which urged the new Italian government to abide by European treaties and the euro zone's common budget rules.

"German industry is concerned about the government program," BDI Managing Director Joachim Lang said. "Incoming Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte must bring the coalition parties back to earth. The expensive election promises are not financeable. They endanger the economic recovery in Italy," he added.

Lang pointed out that Italy's industrial production and foreign trade in particular had developed well over the past three years.

Italy's industry is the second largest in Europe after Germany which is by far the most important trading partner of Italian companies with an annual bilateral trade of 120 billion euros ($140.71 billion), Lang added. ($1 = 0.8528 euros) (Reporting by Michael Nienaber, Editing by William Maclean)</s>Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Giuseppe Conte has faced allegations of inflating his CV

Italy's President Sergio Mattarella has accepted a political novice as prime minister, paving the way for two populist parties to form a government.

The anti-establishment Five Star Movement and right-wing League chose law professor Giuseppe Conte in a bid to end 11 weeks of political deadlock.

The 53-year-old has faced claims that he embellished his CV, which he denies.

Concerns remain over the two parties, which reject years of EU austerity and want to renegotiate Italy's debt.

Speaking after emerging from talks with the president, Mr Conte said: "Outside of this palace there's a country that rightfully awaits a new government and answers. What is about to be born is the government of change."

He added that he would be the "defender of all Italians on the international and European stage".

Italy has been without a government since elections on 4 March, because no political group could form a majority.

Two populist party leaders, Luigi di Maio of the Five Star Movement and Matteo Salvini of the League, finally agreed a coalition deal after days of talks and later nominated Mr Conte as their candidate to be prime minister.

The coalition deal promises tax cuts, a guaranteed basic income for the poor and deportations of 500,000 migrants - policies that are likely to put the eurozone's third biggest economy on a collision course with Brussels.

Mr Conte will now form a list of ministers to be approved by the president before a new government can be sworn in. The cabinet will then face a vote of confidence in parliament.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Populists poised to govern: Five Star Movement's Luigi Di Maio (L) and League's Matteo Salvini

Who is Giuseppe Conte?

Fifty-three-year-old Mr Conte, a professor of private law in Florence and Rome, is not an elected MP and until now has been completely unknown in politics. Since his nomination, he has been accused of inflating his academic resume in an effort to boost his international profile.

On a CV dating back to 2013, he said he had "perfected his legal studies" at New York University, but a spokeswoman for the institution said there was no record of him having studied there.

The resume also said he had carried out "scientific research" at Cambridge University's Girton College in 2001 - a spokeswoman for the university said it could not confirm or deny his claim citing data protection laws.

Mr Conte also said he had worked on his legal studies at the International Kultur Institut in Vienna, Austria. The school - which was misspelt on the CV - is in fact a language school and does not appear to offer legal courses.

The Five Star Movement defended its nominee on Tuesday, saying that Mr Conte had never claimed to have earned degrees abroad, but "went abroad to study, to deepen his knowledge, to perfect his English legal language skills".

It added: "The defamatory campaign is so explicit and crude that it will only strengthen us."

The Five Star Movement and The League named Mr Conte for the role of prime minister on Monday. Instead of immediately accepting the nomination, Mr Mattarella took some time to decide, as concerns rose in Italy over Mr Conte's lack of experience and questions over his CV.

He has also faced controversy over unpaid taxes and fines of over €50,000 (£44,000, $51,000).

With the president's green light it is now up for the parliament to decide on the coalition. The two parties have sufficient votes in the Chamber of Deputies, but only a small majority in the upper house, the Senate.

What do the parties want?

Italy was ravaged by the 2008 financial crisis that left the economy some 6% smaller and three million more people in poverty.

The policies promised by the parties are estimated to cost at least €100bn ($117bn; £88bn), experts say, for a country with the biggest public debt in the EU after Greece.

Other proposals include:

Poor families will get a €780 basic monthly income, provided recipients actively seek work

Two "flat tax" rates set at 15% and 20%, and families would receive a €3,000 annual tax deduction based on household income

Scrapping sales and excise tax increases next year, worth €12.5bn

Neither Five Star nor The League are fans of the single currency, the euro. League leader Matteo Salvini said not long ago that the euro was "a mistake" for Italy's economy, while Five Star had wanted a referendum on Italy's future membership.

But they have dropped their initial ambition of exit from the euro and now talk of trying to reform it from within.</s>ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte began putting together his cabinet team on Thursday, with party leaders pushing for an 81-year eurosceptic economist to be given the pivotal post of economy minister.

Conte, a law professor without political experience, is meeting all the groups in parliament to discuss his plans, and is unlikely to give the head of state his list of ministers before Friday evening, the 5-Star Movement said.

Plucked from obscurity by the anti-establishment party as the right man to head its coalition with the far-right League, Conte was given the mandate to form a government on Wednesday by President Sergio Mattarella.

League leader Matteo Salvini is expected to take over the interior ministry to pursue his promised crackdown on illegal immigration, while 5-Star chief Luigi Di Maio wants the labor ministry to enact his pledge to improve welfare for the poor.

Like the prime minister, neither Salvini nor Di Maio have any experience of government.

However, the economy ministry is proving most problematic - a potential clash looms between the League and Mattarella, who has the final say on ministerial appointments.

Salvini is lobbying for Paolo Savona, who has decades of experience in academia, banking and government but has spooked markets with his eurosceptic views that chime with the League’s.

Di Maio endorsed the choice on Thursday, saying he and Salvini were seeking “the best people to bring change to this country, and Savona is certainly among these.”

Savona has called Italy’s adoption of the European single currency a “historic error” and calls for a “plan B” to be drawn up to let it leave the euro zone with as little damage as possible should this should prove necessary.

Mattarella, who stresses that Italy must meet its European commitments, has let it be known through his aides that he does not want Savona. Yet Salvini shows no sign of backing down, creating a headache for Conte and potentially undermining the delicate equilibrium of the coalition before it even gets going.

Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, an ally of Salvini before the election, said on Thursday his Forza Italia party would vote against the new government in parliament, calling its program “a naive book of dreams”.

Forza Italia’s votes are not necessary for the 5-Star/League coalition to obtain a majority.

The nascent government has the backing of most Italians, with an opinion poll by the Demopolis agency on Wednesday showing 61 percent were in favor and 39 percent against.

Savona’s appointment would probably alarm EU heavyweight Germany, in particular. He warns in his latest book that the Germans are now trying to dominate Europe economically, having failed to achieve the goal militarily in World War II.

“Savona’s positions are radically and suicidally anti-German,” former Italian economy minister Vincenzo Visco said in an interview in the daily Corriere della Sera on Thursday.

Italian markets, which sold off this week on the prospect of an inexperienced, eurosceptic government taking over the euro zone’s third largest economy, recovered on Thursday morning. Italy’s main share index was up 0.4 percent and the gap between the yield on Italian benchmark bonds and their safer German equivalent narrowed to 184 basis points from 190 on Wednesday.</s>BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government on Thursday voiced concern about anti-European statements made by members of Italy’s incoming governing coalition, and the BDI industry association urged Rome to stick to European Union treaties and euro zone budget rules.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday gave political novice Giuseppe Conte a mandate to lead the first government in Italy made up of anti-establishment parties that have vowed to shake up the EU.

“More than ever before, Europe needs a reliable Italian partner who, as before, sees its place in the heart of Europe and not in the deceptive security of nationalism,” Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Roth told Spiegel magazine.

The magazine reported him as saying many statements from members of the incoming coalition were “cause for concern”.

Italy had been deadlocked since an inconclusive election in March. After weeks of fruitless talks between the various parties, 5-Star and the League finally agreed to a government pact last Friday, promising to hike taxes and jack up spending.

Roth’s comments were echoed by Germany’s BDI industry association which urged the new Italian government to abide by European treaties and the euro zone’s common budget rules.

“German industry is concerned about the government program,” BDI Managing Director Joachim Lang said. “Incoming Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte must bring the coalition parties back to earth. The expensive election promises are not financeable. They endanger the economic recovery in Italy,” he added.

Lang pointed out that Italy’s industrial production and foreign trade in particular had developed well over the past three years.

Italy’s industry is the second largest in Europe after Germany which is by far the most important trading partner of Italian companies with an annual bilateral trade of 120 billion euros ($140.71 billion), Lang added.</s>ROME, May 24 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte began putting together his cabinet team on Thursday, with party leaders pushing for an 81-year eurosceptic economist to be given the pivotal post of economy minister.

Conte, a law professor without political experience, is meeting all the groups in parliament to discuss his plans, and is unlikely to give the head of state his list of ministers before Friday evening, the 5-Star Movement said.

Plucked from obscurity by the anti-establishment party as the right man to head its coalition with the far-right League, Conte was given the mandate to form a government on Wednesday by President Sergio Mattarella.

League leader Matteo Salvini is expected to take over the interior ministry to pursue his promised crackdown on illegal immigration, while 5-Star chief Luigi Di Maio wants the labour ministry to enact his pledge to improve welfare for the poor.

Like the prime minister, neither Salvini nor Di Maio have any experience of government.

However, the economy ministry is proving most problematic - a potential clash looms between the League and Mattarella, who has the final say on ministerial appointments.

Salvini is lobbying for Paolo Savona, who has decades of experience in academia, banking and government but has spooked markets with his eurosceptic views that chime with the League's.

Di Maio endorsed the choice on Thursday, saying he and Salvini were seeking "the best people to bring change to this country, and Savona is certainly among these."

Savona has called Italy's adoption of the European single currency a "historic error" and calls for a "plan B" to be drawn up to let it leave the euro zone with as little damage as possible should this should prove necessary.

Mattarella, who stresses that Italy must meet its European commitments, has let it be known through his aides that he does not want Savona. Yet Salvini shows no sign of backing down, creating a headache for Conte and potentially undermining the delicate equilibrium of the coalition before it even gets going.

Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, an ally of Salvini before the election, said on Thursday his Forza Italia party would vote against the new government in parliament, calling its programme "a naive book of dreams".

Forza Italia's votes are not necessary for the 5-Star/League coalition to obtain a majority.

The nascent government has the backing of most Italians, with an opinion poll by the Demopolis agency on Wednesday showing 61 percent were in favour and 39 percent against.

Savona's appointment would probably alarm EU heavyweight Germany, in particular. He warns in his latest book that the Germans are now trying to dominate Europe economically, having failed to achieve the goal militarily in World War II.

"Savona's positions are radically and suicidally anti-German," former Italian economy minister Vincenzo Visco said in an interview in the daily Corriere della Sera on Thursday.

Italian markets, which sold off this week on the prospect of an inexperienced, eurosceptic government taking over the euro zone's third largest economy, recovered on Thursday morning. Italy's main share index was up 0.4 percent and the gap between the yield on Italian benchmark bonds and their safer German equivalent narrowed to 184 basis points from 190 on Wednesday. (Reporting by Gavin Jones Editing by Mark Heinrich)</s>The following content is sourced from external partners. We cannot guarantee that it is suitable for the visually or hearing impaired.

This content was published on May 24, 2018 12:11 PM

Newly appointed Italy Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte speaks to the media after the consultation with the Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte began putting together his cabinet team on Thursday, with party leaders pushing for an 81-year eurosceptic economist to be given the pivotal post of economy minister.

Conte, a law professor without political experience, is meeting all the groups in parliament to discuss his plans, and is unlikely to give the head of state his list of ministers before Friday evening, the 5-Star Movement said.

Plucked from obscurity by the anti-establishment party as the right man to head its coalition with the far-right League, Conte was given the mandate to form a government on Wednesday by President Sergio Mattarella.

League leader Matteo Salvini is expected to take over the interior ministry to pursue his promised crackdown on illegal immigration, while 5-Star chief Luigi Di Maio wants the labour ministry to enact his pledge to improve welfare for the poor.

Like the prime minister, neither Salvini nor Di Maio have any experience of government.

However, the economy ministry is proving most problematic - a potential clash looms between the League and Mattarella, who has the final say on ministerial appointments.

Salvini is lobbying for Paolo Savona, who has decades of experience in academia, banking and government but has spooked markets with his eurosceptic views that chime with the League's.

Di Maio endorsed the choice on Thursday, saying he and Salvini were seeking "the best people to bring change to this country, and Savona is certainly among these."

Savona has called Italy's adoption of the European single currency a "historic error" and calls for a "plan B" to be drawn up to let it leave the euro zone with as little damage as possible should this should prove necessary.

Mattarella, who stresses that Italy must meet its European commitments, has let it be known through his aides that he does not want Savona. Yet Salvini shows no sign of backing down, creating a headache for Conte and potentially undermining the delicate equilibrium of the coalition before it even gets going.

Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, an ally of Salvini before the election, said on Thursday his Forza Italia party would vote against the new government in parliament, calling its programme "a naive book of dreams".

Forza Italia's votes are not necessary for the 5-Star/League coalition to obtain a majority.

The nascent government has the backing of most Italians, with an opinion poll by the Demopolis agency on Wednesday showing 61 percent were in favour and 39 percent against.

Savona's appointment would probably alarm EU heavyweight Germany, in particular. He warns in his latest book that the Germans are now trying to dominate Europe economically, having failed to achieve the goal militarily in World War II.

"Savona's positions are radically and suicidally anti-German," former Italian economy minister Vincenzo Visco said in an interview in the daily Corriere della Sera on Thursday.

Italian markets, which sold off this week on the prospect of an inexperienced, eurosceptic government taking over the euro zone's third largest economy, recovered on Thursday morning. Italy's main share index was up 0.4 percent and the gap between the yield on Italian benchmark bonds and their safer German equivalent narrowed to 184 basis points from 190 on Wednesday.</s>Italy's president on Wednesday approved the nomination as prime minister of little-known lawyer Giuseppe Conte, who said that he wanted his government to "confirm Italy's place" in Europe and the rest of the world.

"The President of the Republic has tasked me with the role of forming a government," Conte said to reporters after leaving a nearly two-hour meeting with President Sergio Mattarella.

 

 Conte must now finalize his cabinet, which has been the subject of days of tough negotiations between the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the far-right League coalition that makes up the proposed government.

 

 The list of ministerial candidates must then be endorsed by head-of-state Mattarella before it can seek parliamentary approval.

 

 Conte's appointment could bring an end to more than two months of political uncertainty in the eurozone's third-biggest economy.

 

 The Five Star-League alliance's eurosceptic stance has alarmed senior European officials, but Conte sought a more conciliatory tone towards Europe when speaking to journalists at the presidential Quirinal palace.

 

 "I'm aware of the necessity to confirm Italy's place, both in Europe and internationally," he said.



 Conte is pictured speaking to Italian press. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

 

 "My intent is to give life to a government of the people that looks after their interests. I'm ready to defend the interests of Italians in Europe and internationally, maintaining dialogue with European institutions and representatives of other countries."

Conte, who hails from Five Star, said that he would present head-of-state Mattarella with his cabinet, which has been the subject of days of tough negotiations between Five Star and the League, within "the next few days".

 

 The list of ministerial candidates must be endorsed by Mattarella before it can seek parliamentary approval.

Italian media reported that League chief Matteo Salvini would become interior minister while Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio will be in charge of the economic development ministry.

 

 Mattarella was reportedly concerned about the plan to name Paolo Savona as economy minister. Minister for industry between 1993-94, Savona, 81, was staunchly opposed to the signing of the Maastricht Treaty and has said he considers the euro currency a "German cage".

 

 The joint government programme unveiled by the parties on Friday pledges significant anti-austerity measures such as drastic tax cuts, a monthly basic income and pension reform rollbacks, which Di Maio and Salvini claim will boost growth.

 

 EU officials have voiced concern that Italy could trigger a new eurozone crisis by refusing to stick to public spending and debt targets set by Brussels.</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>Far-right and anti-establishment parties will govern Italy led by a scandal-plagued little-known lawyer after stunning elections.

Giuseppe Conte was approved as prime minister by President Sergio Mattarella with a mandate for form government with his rag-tag coalition on Wednesday.

The 53-year-old won election despite a brewing scandal about his claims to have studied at some of the world's top universities including Cambridge.

Doubts about his CV almost derailed his candidacy and delayed talks with President Mattarella, but he ultimately prevailed.

'I'm aware of the necessity to confirm Italy's place, both in Europe and internationally,' Mr Conte said after his approval.

His coalition planned a radical slate of economic policies including drastic tax cuts, a monthly basic income that will cost the budget €17 billion (£14.9 billion), and pension reform rollbacks.

The government programme, announced on Friday, also planned to speed up expulsions of illegal immigrants and crack down on trafficking.

Nearly 700,000 people landed in Italy since the migrant crisis exploded in 2013.

Mr Conte's government was also seen as highly eurosceptic, particularly in choosing Paolo Savona as economy minister.

Minister for industry between 1993-94, he was staunchly opposed to signing the Maastricht Treaty and said he considered the euro currency a 'German cage'.

His planned appointment, and the coalition's victory, was mat with dismay by European leaders.

EU officials voiced concern that Italy could trigger a new eurozone crisis by refusing to stick to public spending and debt targets set by Brussels.

Pierre Moscovici, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner, said Italy must deliver a 'credible' response on how it will reduce its debt, the eurozone's second largest in proportion to GDP.

'We judge governments as governments not on what they announce but on what they will do. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said.

'But we remain attentive to safeguard the rights of the Africans who are in Italy.'

Conte's appointment could herald an end to more than two months of political uncertainty in the eurozone's third-biggest economy.

But he must now finalise his cabinet, the subject of days of tough negotiations between the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the far-right League.

The list of ministerial candidates must then be endorsed by head-of-state President Mattarella before it can seek parliamentary approval.

Italian media reported League chief Matteo Salvini would become interior minister and Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio have the economic development ministry.

Mr Conte's CV scandal would likely not completely go away either, as some of the numerous top universities denied him ever being a student.

In a CV posted on the website of a lawyers' association, Mr Conte said he 'furthered his juridical studies' at Yale, New York University, Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, the Sorbonne in Paris, and Cambridge.

NYU said its records did not 'reflect Giuseppe Conte having been at the university as a student or having an appointment as a faculty member'.

It said he was granted permission to conduct research in the institution's law library between 2008 and 2014.

Duquesne University said he attended as part of an affiliation with Villa Nazareth, an exchange programme, and did legal research but 'was not enrolled as a student'.

Mr Conte has yet to speak out publicly about the affair, but has been staunchly defended by both Di Maio and Salvini.

Salvini said Italy should 'go back to the polls' if their proposed government did not get the go-ahead.</s>ROME — The little-known law professor with no political experience picked to be Italy’s next prime minister may be in trouble after reports that he may have lied about his studies.

Giuseppe Conte, 53, emerged this week as the choice of Italy’s two main populist parties after 11 weeks of stop-and-start negotiations since the general election. Few Italians had even heard of the Conte before his name surfaced as the likely compromise candidate to head a new coalition government once it is finally formed.

Conte, nominated by the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement and the nationalist League party, was scheduled to meet Tuesday with President Sergio Mattarella to receive his formal mandate to form a new government. The meeting didn't happen, and Conte's nomination may be in doubt.

“As a low-key figure without a real national profile, Conte was already an unusual choice to be prime minister,” said Gian Franco Gallo, a political analyst with Milan’s ABS Securities. “Now, with these new developments, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mattarella wanted to re-evaluate the situation.”

Conte’s 12-page résumé includes studies at Yale, New York University, the Sorbonne and Cambridge. But NYU said it had no record of Conte studying there. He claimed at least one month of studies at NYU for five consecutive years ending in 2012. The New York Times first reported the discrepancy.

Italian media pointed out other questionable claims about Conte's studies.

The developments put the Five-Star Movement on the defensive, saying Conte's statements were accurate. Conte “fine-tuned and updated his studies and never claimed he got a degree from the university,” the party said Tuesday in a statement.

“This is obviously less than ideal as a first impression, but I think the developments will hurt his prestige more than his candidacy,” said Flavio Chiapponi, a political scientist at the University of Pavia and author of a book about the Five-Star Movement.

The issue over Conte is the latest surprise since the March 4 election and the strong showing by the anti-establishment parties, who will form Italy's first populist government.

Five-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio talks to the media, as he arrives at the Lower House in Rome, on May 22, 2018.

The Five-Star Movement, founded seven years ago by comedian-turned-activist Beppe Grillo, was the top vote-getter. Until now, the party has never run a government bigger than the city governments in Rome and Turin.

The League, which has a nationalist, anti-migrant platform, has been a junior partner in previous governments, but never under its current leader, Matteo Salvini. The League finished third in the March vote. Combined with the Five-Star Movement, the two parties hold a slim majority of seats in parliament.

The two parties, which still must firm up a coalition government, have proposed a dramatic crackdown on migrants living in Italy and greater autonomy for the country within the European Union, including a possible referendum on Italy’s role in the 19-nation euro currency zone.

Their populist priorities include a plan to lower taxes and increase government spending, including the creation of a minimum income for all Italians and a flat income tax, platforms that raised concerns among European economists and investors. The party leaders said they will seek to offset the costs by calling on the European Central Bank to write off as much as $300 million in Italian debt.

Before the latest news, Conte was praised as a lawyer, although it was unclear how politically savvy he would be.

Franco Pavoncello, president of Rome’s John Cabot University, where Conte serves on the Board of Trustees, described him as “reserved, capable, accomplished, respected and effective.”

Pavoncello noted that Conte, as prime minister, would have the least political experience since the first term of media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi in 1994. Berlusconi's lengthy political career included several scandals and charges for bribery, tax fraud and paying a minor for sex.

“Conte is as much as a political newcomer as Berlusconi was at the start, but that is surely the only important parallel between the two,” Pavoncello said.

Conte’s educational background made him an unusual choice for prime minister, because the two party leaders — Luigi Di Maio, 31, of the Five-Star Movement, and the League's Salvini, 45 — both dropped out of college.

Still, several Italians remain hopeful about the new government.

“I want to give him a try,” said Martina Rondi, 37, a high school administrator from Rome. “Almost all politicians are corrupt. Maybe we need a smart and honest outsider. I can say he can’t do much worse than the recent” prime ministers.

Adele Palmero, 71, a retired city administrator, agreed. “I know I don’t want Berlusconi back in charge, and I really don’t want Di Maio or Salvini,” she said. “Conte? I didn’t know anything about him until the last couple of days. But why not give him his chance? Maybe he can surprise us. If not, we can move on to the next one.”
Italian President Sergio Mattarella accepts Giuseppe Conte as Prime Minister. Conte is now going to form his government, supported by the Five Star Movement and League.