Italy’s president is likely on Wednesday to appoint a mediator to try to break a deadlock that has prevented the formation of a government since inconclusive elections six weeks ago, a source said, although no quick breakthrough is expected. President Sergio Mattarella will probably ask Maria Casellati, the speaker of the Senate, to hold more flexible, less formal talks than those he has already led, a source close to the president told Reuters. The European Union’s third-largest economy has been under a caretaker government since the March 4 polls, when anti-establishment and far-right parties were the big winners at the expense of more mainstream groups.
Two rounds of formal consultations between Mattarella and the parties have failed to break down apparently irreconcilable positions, and the stalemate is likely to persist until regional elections later this month, other political sources have said.
Casellati is a member of the conservative Forza Italia (Go Italy!) party and she has always been close to its leader, four times prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
A conservative bloc comprising the League, the Brothers of Italy and Forza Italia won the most seats at the election, but not enough for a working majority, while the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement emerged as the largest single party.
Full Article: Italy president likely to ask mediator to tackle post-vote stalemate.