Premier designate Giuseppe Conte has
handed back a mandate to form a new government to President
Sergio Mattarella, the president office said on Sunday.
Law professor Conte's drive to form a government backed by
the 5-Star Movement and the League appears to have run aground
due to Mattarella's reported 'veto' of the nomination of Paolo
Savona as economy minister.
The appointment of economist Savona, a former industry
minister who has expressed Euroskeptic positions in the past,
seems to be a deal breaker for League leader Matteo Salvini.
Senior members of the M5S are angry about developments,
sources said.
The sources said that it is the "biggest fake new in history"
that Savona has called for Italy to quit the euro.
"I want a different Europe, one that is stronger but fairer,"
Savona said in a statement on Sunday. "Wild controversy has been
made out of my ideas. I believe in European political union".
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