The prime minister-designate has given up on his mandate to form a government after talks with the president collapsed. The president is to meet with Carlo Cottarelli, a former senior IMF official, on Monday.
Image: Reuters/A. Bianchi
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Italy's prime ministerial candidate, Giuseppe Conte, said Sunday he would not be leading the next Italian government.
"Giuseppe Conte has given up the mandate to form a government, given to him on May 23," an official from the presidential palace said.
Initial reports suggest right-wing League party leader Matteo Salvini had refused to accept a presidential veto on his choice for economy minister, the 81-year-old euroskeptic economist Paolo Savona.
Talking to reporters after he informed President Sergio Mattarella of his decision, Conte said he "gave the maximum effort, attention, to carry out this task with the full collaboration" of would-be coalition partners — the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and far-right League.
Conte: 'I have returned the mandate that President Mattarella gave me'
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Fresh elections?
Earlier in the day, Conte met Mattarella with his list of ministers in a bid to end the country's political stalemate. But the two could not agree on Savona's role in what would have been Western Europe's first populist government. Mattarella is staunchly pro-Europe.
Even before the two had finished with their meeting, League's Salvini said the only option now was to hold another election, probably later this year.
"In a democracy, if we are still in democracy, there's only one thing to do, let the Italians have their say," Salvini told his supporters in central Italy.
Salvini and 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio also met Mattarella informally on Sunday to try to find a solution.
Di Maio said the president's rejection of the coalition's choice for economy minister was "unacceptable."
"It's an institutional clash without precedent," Di Maio said on a livestreamed Facebook video. "What's the point of going to vote if it's the ratings agencies that decide?"
The 5-Star leader also suggested that Mattarella could be impeached. "I hope that we can give the floor to Italians as soon as possible, but first we need to clear things up. First the impeachment of Mattarella... then to the polls," Di Maio said on Italian television.
Economic consideration
Mattarella said he refused to approve Savona's appointment as that would have "alarmed markets and investors, Italians and foreigners."
"Every day, the [bond] spread goes up, it raises our debt costs," he said.
Savona has likened Italy to being in a "cage" of austerity restrictions favored by fellow eurozone member Germany.
Mattarella's office said the president has invited Carlo Cottarelli, a former senior director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for talks on Monday.
The announcement suggested Mattarella may ask him to head a technocrat government.
ap/jm (AFP, dpa, Reuters, AP)
Italy's populist government: Key players
After months of negotiations, Italy finally has a government with Giuseppe Conte at the helm. Conte's swearing in ended weeks of turmoil that rocked financial markets, but concerns among Italy's EU partners remain.
Image: picture-alliance/ROPI
Conte: Novice at the helm
Giuseppe Conte, a little-known law professor with no political experience, was picked by the League and 5-Star Movement (M5S) as their candidate for prime minister. He was forced to temporarily give up his leadership bid after the parties' cabinet selection was initially blocked. However, after the two parties struck a deal with President Sergio Mattarella, Conte was eventually sworn in on June 1.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Lore
Mattarella: President with the final say
President Sergio Mattarella faced calls for his impeachment after he prevented the populist alliance from taking office. He singled out its choice for finance minister, Paolo Savona, warning that an openly euroskeptic minister in that position went against the parties' joint promise to simply "change Europe for the better." After the parties agreed to replace Savona, Mattarella gave the go-ahead.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Solaro
Di Maio: Anti-austerity advocate
M5S chief Luigi Di Maio secured his party 32 percent of the vote in the March election. With the populist M5S-League coalition in power, Di Maio assumed the role of joint deputy prime minister and took over the economic development portfolio. The M5S leader has come under fire for his anti-immigration rhetoric, including calling rescue missions to save migrants from drowning a "sea-taxi service."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T. Fabi
Salvini: 'The Captain'
Matteo Salvini is the leader of the anti-immigrant, euroskeptic League, which won 17 percent of the vote in the March election. A former MEP, he and his party have no experience in governing. Salvini has taken on the position of interior minister within Conte's Cabinet. Known for his hostile rhetoric toward immigrants and the EU, Salvini once described the euro a "crime against humanity."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Di Meo
Savona: Anti-euro radical
Paola Savona, initially tipped to lead the Finance Ministry, has called the euro a "German cage" and said that Italy needs a plan to leave the single currency. The 81-year-old's stance won him the backing of most Italian lawmakers but that wasn't enough to stop his appointment being vetoed. In his place steps Giovanni Tria, an economics professor without any previous government experience.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Frustaci
Cottarelli: Temporary caretaker
Carlo Cottarelli was set to become Italy's caretaker prime minster after the M5S-League alliance failed to have its controversial cabinet picks approved. The former IMF economist's time in the spotlight was short-lived, however. Political uncertainty in Italy rocked Europe's financial markets and prompted Mattarella to swiftly renegotiate and approve Salvini and Di Maio's governing coalition.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/S. Lore
Berlusconi: Vanquished enabler
Silvio Berlusconi (right) and his Forza Italia entered a four-party electoral alliance including League in the March election that secured the bloc 37 percent. Berlusconi is now upset at his right-wing ally Salvini after the League leader moved to work with M5S. Berlusconi has said he would act as a "reasonable and scrutinizing opposition."
