Italian leader-in-waiting faces demands from right and left

Italian prime minister-in-waiting Matteo Renzi took his first steps through what he has called "the misty bog" of Italian politics when he formally received a mandate yesterday from President Giorgio Napolitano to form the 65th post-war Italian government.

Despite his well-founded reputation for innovation, not to mention his desire to effect radical change on the political landscape, Mr Renzi followed a very orthodox, institutional script yesterday morning. Having met with Mr Napolitano for over an hour, he then made a brief statement to the media, confirming he had accepted the government mandate, “with reserve”.

Statesman mode
Dressed in a smart, dark suit, the self-styled "Demolition Man" was very much in statesman mode yesterday, declining to take questions. Conveying the urgency of the moment, the Democratic Party (PD) leaderexpressed the ambitious hope his government will immediately tackle four major problems – electoral reform, employment, public administration and taxation – in his first four months in office. Having accepted his mandate, Mr Renzi hopped on a train to return to Florence to preside over his last city council meeting as town mayor.

Despite his reputation for getting things done quickly, Mr Renzi conceded he might need some "necessary time" to form his government, notwithstanding the "urgency". That could mean he has already encountered the sort of coalition problems which undermined the executive of his predecessor, party colleague Enrico Letta, the man who was removed from office by Mr Renzi at a PD party meeting last Thursday.

Thus, when Mr Renzi formally opens his government consultations in Rome this morning, his first problem will be the need to balance out the contradictory pressures coming from centre-right coalition partner, the ex-Berlusconi NCD, and from the PD left. While the NCD has threatened to withdraw from government if it deems the new executive too leftist, elements in the PD party may vote against Mr Renzi if they deem his government not leftist enough.

The NCDs are likely to focus on two requirements, namely three senior cabinet posts and a German-style written coalition agreement. In contrast, the PD left remains so uneasy about the so-called PD “palace putsch” that as many as 10 of them may vote against the government in its first all-vital Senate vote of confidence.

Political youth
It is still possible the Renzi government could be sworn in and ready to face that first crucial vote by the end of the week. Only then will Mr Renzi withdraw his "reserve", becoming at 39 the youngest prime minister of the post-war era. Ironically, in modern times, only Il Duce Bettino Mussolini was as young as him when taking office, being 39 too when he became prime minister in 1922.

Often compared to Tony Blair, Mr Renzi yesterday received an endorsement from the former British prime minister who told the Adnkronos news agency that "Matteo" had the "dynamism, creativity and strength to be a success".

In contrast, however, Fitch Ratings agency expressed reservations saying that Mr Letta’s resignation was “the latest episode of political volatility”, pointing out that Mr Renzi will be Italy’s fourth prime minister since November 2011.