Italy's president summons Conte for talks on forming govt

[brooklynite]

Source: AP

ROME (AP) — Italy's president summoned Giuseppe Conte for consultations Wednesday to see if the law professor tapped by the euroskeptic 5-Star Movement and League as their candidate for premier has what it takes to try to form a government.

After more than two months of political deadlock and market concerns that Europe's third-largest economy is taking a populist plunge, President Sergio Mattarella's office announced Conte had been called to a meeting in the afternoon.

Analysts expect Mattarella will go ahead and give Conte a mandate to try to form a government, which would then be subject to confidence votes in both houses of parliament.

The anti-establishment 5-Stars and anti-immigrant League had proposed Conte as their compromise candidate for premier after inconclusive March 4 national elections led to a hung parliament.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/italian-president-summons-conte-talks-forming-govt-112424123.html?soc_src=hl-viewer&soc_trk=tw

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Meanwhile.....

Italy's likely next prime minister accused of embellishing his resume

(CNN)Italian media reports questioning the resume and academic records of Giuseppe Conte, a law professor and political novice tipped to be Italy's next prime minister, have reached fever pitch -- but the parties backing him are pressing ahead with their choice.

President Sergio Mattarella called Conte to the Quirinal Palace in Rome on Wednesday after his name emerged as a possible candidate for the PM's office following talks between the leader of the populist Five Star Movement, Luigi Di Maio, and the leader of the far-right League, Matteo Salvini, according to the the president's website.

But in the past few days, a series of media reports have raised questions as to whether Conte had embellished his resume, which is publicly available on the Chamber of Deputies website and is dated September 2013.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/23/europe/italy-giuseppe-conte-resume-ntl/index.html

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Their proposals are controversial:

The coalition deal promises tax cuts, a guaranteed basic income for the poor and deportations of 500,000 migrants - policies that are likely to put the eurozone's third biggest economy on a collision course with Brussels.
...
The policies promised by the parties are estimated to cost at least €100bn ($117bn; £88bn), experts say, for a country with the biggest public debt in the EU after Greece.

Other proposals include:

Poor families will get a €780 basic monthly income, provided recipients actively seek work
Two "flat tax" rates set at 15% and 20%, and families would receive a €3,000 annual tax deduction based on household income
Scrapping sales and excise tax increases next year, worth €12.5bn

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44223034