Dubbed ‘Mr Nobody’, political novice Giuseppe Conte suddenly finds himself at the helm of one of the eurozone’s largest economies, running a cabinet of far-right and anti-establishment ministers. The little-known academic, 53, was sworn in as prime minister on Friday, less than a week after walking away amid a row over a proposed eurosceptic economy minister. Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio, also from Italy’s poorer south, hailed Conte as “someone from the periphery of this country (…), who has made something of himself”. –Di Maio had initially presented Conte as part of the Five Star team of ministers ahead of the March 4 general election. After the parties nominated him, the media uncovered snippets of information about the likely future prime minister.

Source: Punch June 01, 2018 16:13 UTC