Italian president gives green light to government run by populist parties

Giuseppe Conte.
(Image credit: Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images)

On Thursday, Italian officials agreed to a deal that puts two populist parties in charge of the government.

The announcement was made just days after President Sergio Mattarella rejected the parties' pick for finance minister because he was critical of the European Union and suggested abandoning the euro. Mattarella was presented with a new cabinet on Thursday, which he approved. The anti-immigrant League and anti-establishment Five Star Movement will lead together, with law professor Giuseppe Conte serving as prime minister. Both parties have said they want to renegotiate treaties on budgets and migration with the EU, as well as lift sanctions against Russia.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.