Italy Hands ‘Mr. Nobody’ Second Shot at Forging Stable Government

  • Conte: new team will be committed to Europe, Atlantic alliance
  • Outgoing government tangled with allies over budget, migrants
Giuseppe Conte at the Quirinale Palace in Rome on Aug. 29.Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg
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As prime minister of Italy for just over a year, Giuseppe Conte led an abrasive populist coalition that challenged Europe over budgets, migrants and how to approach an increasingly antagonistic Russia. Now, as he prepares to return in a “Conte 2.0” government, the premier is pledging to play nice.

Conte, 55, on Thursday accepted a mandate from President Sergio Mattarella to lead a coalition of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the center-left Democrats, pledging that his new government will be committed to European and Atlantic alliances.