Italy’s PresidentSergio Mattarella summoned Carlo Cottarelli, a former official at the International Monetary Fund, to form an interim government.
In a televised address, Mattarella said he had rejected the candidate, 81-year-old eurosceptic economist Paolo Savona, because he had threatened to pull Italy out of the eurozone.
Markets rallied on the news that Italy’s economy, the euro zone’s third-biggest, would not be guided by a government hostile to the single currency.
“The uncertainty over our position has alarmed investors and savers both in Italy and abroad,” Mattarella said, adding: “Membership of the euro is a fundamental choice. If we want to discuss it, then we should do so in a serious fashion.”
The League and 5-Star, which had spent days drawing up a coalition pact aimed at ending a stalemate following an inconclusive March vote, responded with fury to Mattarella, accusing him of abusing his office.
5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio called on parliament to impeach the mild-mannered Mattarella, while League chief Matteo Salvini threatened mass protests unless snap elections were called.
“If there’s not the OK of Berlin, Paris or Brussels, a government cannot be formed in Italy. It’s madness, and I ask the Italian people to stay close to us because I want to bring democracy back to this country,” Salvini told reporters.
