Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentilonib To Be New Prime Minister

December 12, 2016

Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni will be the country’s new prime minister.

Gentiloni was summoned for talks at the presidential palace on Sunday morning.

President Sergio Mattarella asked the 62-year-old to form a new government.

After consulting with around 40 political parties over the past three days, Mattarella pledged on Saturday to act quickly to give the country a fully-functioning government.

Gentiloni promised to begin work on forming a new government as soon as possible.

“During the negotiations, we noted the reluctance of the opposition parties to share the responsibilities of the new government,” he told reporters.

“Therefore, we are not doing this by choice, but rather because we have the duty to do it. And so, we will proceed with the government and the current majority.”

(EN)