Italian President Sergio Mattarella has embarked on discrete consultations with political parties in a bid to work out who may form the government, after the recent general election resulted in a triumph for populist parties and a meltdown of the existing political system.
But Mr Mattarella, whose powers are largely ceremonial, has admitted he will not be able to formally nominate the prime minister until well into next month.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Read the full story and more at $9.90/month
Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month
ST One Digital
$9.90/month
No contract
ST app access on 1 mobile device
Unlock these benefits
All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com
Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device
E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you