Italy's Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte has abandoned efforts to form a government after the country's president Sergio Mattarella rejected his choice of economy minister.
Italy's PM designate ends effort to form government
STEPANAKERT, MAY 28, ARTSAKHPRESS:The comments were read out following a Sunday evening meeting between Conte and Mattarella.
The two politicians met to discuss the list of cabinet candidates the would-be coalition partners, the far-right League and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, were proposing.
Conte, a political novice, was appointed on Wednesday in an attempt to end 11 weeks of political stalemate since Italy's March 4 general elections.
Earlier on Sunday, a source said Mattarella had rejected the name of Paolo Savona, the eurosceptic candidate whom the League/5-Star coalition had put forward to head the Economy Ministry.
Savona, 81, is an economist who has previously been a vocal critic of the euro and the European Union.