Conte to lead ‘more united’ Italy after far-right’s fall from power

ROME: Italy’s premier-designate Giuseppe Conte said on Thursday his new coalition would lead a “more united, inclusive” country after a deal was struck that cut the anti-immigrant far-right out of power.

The anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), once bitter foes, agreed on Wednesday to govern in coalition to stave off snap elections in the eurozone’s third largest economy.

“We must transform this crisis into an opportunity,” Conte said, insisting that Italy would once more become a key player in Europe after 14 months of a populist, anti-EU government. The new government would create “a fairer, more competitive, more united, more inclusive country”. The soft-spoken former academic, who was chosen as a compromise prime minister last year, was handed a fresh mandate by the president and said he would take a few days for political consultations to ensure a parliamentary majority.

Milan’s FTSE Mib was up 2.0 per cent after his speech. Conte said it was a “very delicate phase” for debt-burdened Italy, citing an economic slowdown in Europe and trade tensions between the US and China.

“We have to make up for lost time so Italy can play the leading role (in Europe) that a founding country deserves,” Conte said. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker sent his “warmest wishes” to Conte and Brussels was “counting on (Italy’s) active contribution to the European project,” his spokeswoman said.

The crisis was triggered on August 8 when popular far-right leader Matteo Salvini pulled his far-right League party out of the governing coalition with M5S, calling for fresh elections he thought would make him premier.

Salvini said the new coalition “was born in Brussels to get rid of that pain in the arse Salvini,” and announced a League rally in Rome for October 19, said it would be “a great day of Italian pride”.