Italy president with bankers, not people: Euroskeptic party

The head of Euroskeptic Lega Nord says the appointment of Carlo Cottarelli, a former senior director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as interim prime minister shows that Italy’s president is "with the bankers" not the people.

Matteo Salvini, the leader of Lega Nord, best known as the far-right League party, expressed in a post on Twitter the widespread anger over the unprecedented move by the Italian president.

“They are with the bankers and the powerful ones. We are with the Italian people," Salvini posted.

President Sergio Mattarella announced his decision to make ex-IMF director Cottarelli interim prime minister on Monday.

The defiant message was accompanied by a photograph showing Cottarelli, former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Mattarella.

Mattarella has refused to sign off on a new government assembled by the League and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S). Both parties have criticized the euro and the European Union. After lengthy negotiations, the two parties joined forces to create a collective majority in parliament and form a new government.

The appointment came after anti-establishment forces abandoned efforts to form a ruling coalition in the European country and hit a standoff with the president over his refusal to endorse a eurosceptic pick for the post of finance minister.

PressTV-Ex-IMF official named as interim Italian PM to form govt.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella has tasked Carlo Cottarelli, a former senior IMF official, with leading a transitional government before snap elections in the fall or early next year.

Mattarella vetoed the nomination of Paolo Savona as economy minister in a coalition of M5S and League.

The 76-year-old president said he would accept every proposed minister except Savona, who had formerly asserted that Italy’s entry into the European Union’s single currency, euro, was a “historic mistake.”

The two populist parties accused Mattarella of betraying voters and later dropped their plan to take power.

President Mattarella has asked Cottarelli to form a stop-gap government to lead the country to early elections.

Mattarella’s action sparked angry calls for his impeachment.

Cottarelli, 64, is widely known at home as “Mr. Scissors” for making cuts to public spending. To become prime minister, he is required to gain the approval of parliament with Five Star and League holding a majority in both houses.

Italy, a founding member of the European Union, has been without a government since an election in early March, when Five Star and League emerged as the biggest parties.

The two parties have vowed to battle the EU over its financial and immigration policies. The two have formerly been open to the possibility of Italy holding a referendum on euro.

The prospect of a eurosceptic government in Rome has concerned the EU leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Merkel, who are pushing for further political and economic integration.

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