Italy Picks New Mediator in Search for Government Majority
- President wants talks on a Five Star-Democratic Party tie-up
- Center-right claims win in Molise region boosts its chances
Roberto Fico, speaker of Italy's lower house, left, leaves following a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, not pictured, at the Quirinale in Rome, Italy, on April 13.
Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella asked lower house Speaker Roberto Fico to find out whether the anti-establishment Five Star Movement could govern with the center-left Democratic Party, in the latest attempt to break a seven-week impasse.
The head of state appointed 43-year-old Fico, from Five Star, to hold talks on his behalf and report back to him by Thursday. Senate Speaker Elisabetta Casellati last week failed to broker a deal between Five Star and the center-right alliance after a similar mandate from Mattarella.