Italy's anti-establishment 5 Star Movement and the far-right League moved closer to forming a coalition government and nominating a prime minister. The populist parties are expected to announce their decision on Monday.
Image: picture alliance/ROPI
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The euroskeptic Five Star Movement (M5S) and the anti-migrant League made progress in talks to form Italy's next government, according to party leaders and media reports on Sunday.
The two prior rivals have been locked in negotiations since Thursday to combine their differing election platforms and have come to an agreement on their nomination for prime minister.
Where coalition talks stand
The parties have agreed their government program and will present their nomination for prime minister to Italy's president on Monday, reported press agency AGI.
"It has been a very productive day," M5S head Luigi Di Maio told reporters following coalition talks in Milan with the League.
Matteo Salvini, the head of the League, said the parties made progress in agreeing plans to cut taxes, increase welfare and boost efforts to stop irregular immigration.
If their coalition talks succeed, they will be the first anti-establishment government in Italy as well as in western Europe.
Who could be the next prime minister?
No names of potential candidates have been mentioned so far. However, neither Di Maio nor Salvini want the other to become Italy's next premier.
The leaders have been trying to find a "neutral" candidate with no allegiance to either party to lead the government.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella reminded the parties on Saturday that the constitution grants him the final say over nominating the next premier and that he doesn't have to accept their recommendation.
Democracy Italian style: The weirdest moments of Italy's election campaign
Ahead of parliamentary elections on Sunday, Italy is suffering from a bout of voter apathy. Considering what they've seen on the campaign trail might explain why.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/B. N. Clarke
He's back, and this time he's a vegetarian
Last Easter, in an attempt to soften his image as he eyed a return to politics, Berlusconi took part in an ad promoting vegetarianism that featured him snuggling lambs in soft lighting overlaid with easy listening music. Although Berlusconi is barred from seeking office for another year due to a fraud conviction, a bloc led by his Forza Italia party has been polling strongly.
Image: youtube/TG4 - Telegiornale
'No one will marry you'
Berlusconi is well known for offensive remarks and belittling women, so it's no surprise he did both in one go on the campaign trail. Earlier in February, he told a BBC journalist that her handshake was too manly; "Otherwise men will think, this one is going to beat me up, and no one will marry you."
Image: picture-alliance/ROPI/Napoli/Giacomino
Win (a date with) Salvini!
Matteo Salvini of the far-right Northern League came up with a humble publicity stunt – whoever likes his Facebook posts can win a chance to take a picture with "the captain", talk to him on the phone, or meet in private. He was lambasted on social media and by Italy's La Repubblica daily, which wrote: "The captain? Even Silvio Berlusconi in his golden age would envy this kind of self-regard."
Image: www.salvinipremier.it
Think about it!
If ex-PM Matteo Renzi was hoping to make a big splash with this tepid ad in which — surprise! — he shows up on a bike and tells a family to "think about" voting for him, then he was certainly successful. Just not perhaps in the way he wanted. The staggeringly lackluster TV spot was parodied countless times on social media.
Image: Youtube/Matteo Renzi
Just us kids
Luigi di Maio of Italy's anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) has repeatedly used his age of only 31 to try and connect with younger voters and is prolific on social media. One of his most cringeworthy attempts to relate to millennial voters came in a video he posted to Instagram in which he said M5S would make Italy "fly high," before "flying" himself in an entertainment complex.
Image: Instagram/luigi.di.maio
Pope: Fake news is like being aroused by feces
After the US election, the Pope warned about the spread of fake news in Italy and its undue influence. He called untrue, sensational stories "the greatest damage the media can do," in an interview with the Catholic weekly Tertio. "I think the media...must not fall into – no offense intended – the sickness of coprophilia," he said, using a more polite term for an abnormal interest in faeces.
Image: picture-alliance/Catholic Press Photo
Prime Minister Oliver?
Comedian and pundit John Oliver brought the tumultous Italian election to the attention of a wider audience in one of his famous TV segments, skewering Berlusconi. Oliver's solution to Italy's unwieldy democracy? Encouraging Italian lawmakers to appoint him: "Incredibly, I am far from your worst option," he joked while cuddling a lamb.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/B. N. Clarke
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Why are they working together? In the March 4 vote, M5S garnered 32 percent of the vote while the League-led right-wing coalition managed garnered a combined 37 percent. Both sides failed to reach the 40 percent necessary to govern.
M5S agreed to work on forming a coalition with the League if they dropped their alliance partner Forza Italia — a party led by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Last Wednesday, Berlusconi said he wouldn't prevent the parties from forming a government.
What do the parties want? Both parties are euroskeptic and reject what they view as Brussels' budget limitations. They also both want to hold a referendum on Italy's membership in the Eurozone. The League is also a proponent of hardline immigration policies.
What happens next? The parties will present their agreement and prime minister nomination to the president on Monday. If the president accepts the nomination for prime minister, the post could be filled within days.
Italy's political uncertainty weighs on the economy
