Paolo Gentiloni the Italian Foreign Minister has been chosen by Italy’s president to replace Matteo Renzi as prime minister. This decision by the Italian president shows that that center-left government’s foreign and domestic policies will continue amidst the volatile times that Italy is facing. Paolo Gentiloni made a statement in which he gladly accepted the mandate bestowed upon him by the president Sergio Mattarella. This comes after Italy’s leaders of the opposition parties declined to come to a consensus regarding sharing responsibilities and creating a coalition government.
Gentiloni said that he considers it a high honor and that he will carry out his responsibilities with dignity and responsibility. He made this statements shortly after he was appointed for the position of the Prime Minister. He also made it clear that he hoped to make a new government soon which would aid Italy in assuring its citizens and discharge its international responsibilities.
Gentiloni will discharge his new roles after successfully choosing his new cabinet and making sure that he secures a vote of confidence in parliament. There’s a great probability of the vote occurring in the course of this week.
There’s a likelihood of Mattarella calling for early elections in 2017 before the expected end of the parliamentary term in 2018; this can be seen from Gentiloni decision to choose an experienced minister in Renzi’s government who appears not to harbor any political ambitions. There’s also a clear indication that Renzi is going to greatly influence his tenure even as Renzi remains at the helm of the Democratic party.
This comes one week after Renzi lost in a referendum on constitutional reforms as 60% of Italians voted the measure down. After successfully overseeing the passage of the 2017 budget in parliament, Renzi followed through on his pledge which he had made that he would resign if he lost the vote.
The incoming prime minister will be faced by financial crisis as his biggest crisis that he’ll have to handle. This comes after the European Central Bank rejected Monte dei Paschi’s request to extend the time for arranging the necessary capital infusion by a consortium of private investors. This decision might force the Italian government to intervene in saving the Siena-based bank which is collapsing due to the billions of euros in non-performing loans.
