Senate Speaker Maria Elisabetta
Alberti Casellati is set to report back to President Sergio
Mattarella on Friday over the mandate he gave her to see if she
could end Italy's post-election political deadlock.
She does not look able to give him good news as a second
round of talks she had with parties on Thursday failed to
generate a breakthrough and League leader Matteo Salvini's
optimism about moving forward towards the creation of a new
executive looks to have been misplaced.
Luigi Di Maio, the leader of the 5-Star Movement (M5S) that
is the biggest party in the new parliament, reiterated Thursday
that the anti-establishment group was not willing to sign a
contract of government with the whole centre right, the
coalition that came first in last month's inconclusive general
election.
He said he was willing to negotiate with the anti-migrant,
Euroskeptic League, but not with its allies, Silvio Berlusconi's
Forza Italia and the rightwing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party.
Di Maio added that he would not consider external support by
FI and FdI of a M5S-League government to be "hostile" but this
was not deemed acceptable by the centre right.
FI accused the M5S of "the umpteenth demonstration of
immaturity".
Salvini said he was losing patience.
"If nothing moves I'll put a government together," he said.
"And if I'm not able to, we'll go back to the ballot box".
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