Second day of president's consultations (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, December 9 - The second day of President Sergio Mattarella's consultations on Italy's government crisis began Friday with the smaller parties set to make the walk up Rome's Quirinal Hill.
    Fully 17 leaders of small caucuses will meet with the president, telling them how they think he should proceed.
    Mattarella is said to want to decide as quickly as possible after seeing ex-premier Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party (PD), the last group, on Saturday.
    The opposition, anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S), Italy's second-biggest party after the PD, are insisting on a snap vote without a new government, as are the biggest party on the right, the anti-euro, anti-immigrant Northern League party.
    Mattarella has said a vote would be "inconceivable" without first making the electoral law consistent for the Lower House and the Senate.
    The Constitutional Court is set to rule on the Italicum election law, which currently covers just the House, on January 24.
    It is widely expected to find its winner's bonus, the two rounds of voting, and perhaps also the lack of constituencies allowing Italians to pick all their MPs, as against Italy's founding charter.
    Mattarella may name a member of the PD such as Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni or Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, or a technocrat such as Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan, or an institutional figure such as Senate Speaker Pietro Grasso.
    They may be tasked either with taking the country to the vote after the Constitutional Court ruling and framing a new election law, or trying to reach the end of the legislative term in February 2018 in order to meet important international commitments such as the anniversary of the Treaty of Rome in March and Italy's duty presidency of the G7 in the second half of the year. andare alle urne senza passare da un nuovo governo. Forza Italia è sulla stessa linea, ma Berlusconi apre a diverse ipotesi. Piace, invece, alla minoranza Pd l'ipotesi di un nuovo esecutivo a guida Dem. Franceschini stronca i retroscena: "sto con il segretario".