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TEHRAN, May 28 - Italy was plunged into fresh political chaos as the president prepared Monday to appoint a pro-austerity economist as leader after a bid by two populist parties to form a government collapsed.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - The crisis was sparked when President Sergio Mattarella vetoed the nomination of fierce eurosceptic Paolo Savona as economy minister, enraging the far-right League and leading to the anti-establishment Five Star Movement calling for his impeachment.
The decision led to prime minister-elect Giuseppe Conte stepping aside, exacerbating the political turmoil nearly three months after March's inconclusive general election.
Mattarella said he had accepted every proposed minister except Savona, who has called the euro a "German cage" and has said that Italy needs a plan to leave the single currency "if necessary".
The leaders of Five Star and the League, Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini, furiously denounced the veto, decrying what they called meddling by Germany, debt ratings agencies and financial lobbies.
Mattarella has summoned Carlo Cottarelli, an economist formerly with the International Monetary Fund, for talks at 0930 GMT, with a temporary technocrat government on the table as Italy faces the strong possibility of new elections in the autumn.
Cottarelli, 64, was director of the IMF's fiscal affairs department from 2008 to 2013 and became known as "Mr Scissors" for making cuts to public spending in Italy.
European stock markets and the euro received an early boost Monday after the veto of the fiercely eurosceptic economy minister, which potentially averted a eurozone crisis.
But Milan's stock exchange proved volatile, turning to losses in mid-morning trading, in a sign that early positivity may not last.
Cottarelli will struggle to gain the approval of parliament with Five Star and the League commanding a majority in both houses.
"They've replaced a government with a majority with one that won't obtain one," said Di Maio.
Source: AFP
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