Senate Speaker Maria Elisabetta
Alberti Casellati "can do a good job" if she is given an
exploratory government-formation mandate by President Sergio
Mattaerlla on Wednesday or Thursday, rightwing populist League
leader Matteo Salvini said Tuesday.
Casellati is a member of the League's allied party, Silvio
Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia.
Salvini is refusing bids by the anti-establishment 5-Star
Movement (M5S) to get him to ditch Berlusconi to form a
government alliance after the inconclusive March 4 general
election.
The centre right came top with 37% of the vote with the
Leauge getting 17.5% and FI 14%.
The M5S was top single party with 32.5% of the vote.
Casellati has been touted to get the exploratory mandate, as
as House Speaker Roberto Fico, an M5S heavyweight, after two
rounds of government-formation consultations produced no way out
of the post-election stalemate.
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