Update: In the time since this article was published, Giuseppe Conte has given up his bid to form a government citing President Sergio Mattarella’s refusal to accept eurosceptic finance minister Paolo Savona. The situation is fluid with President Mattarella maintaining that he will wait before making any decision, but new elections are now a distinct possibility. 

 

Summary

Italy’s populist Five-Star Movement (M5S) and the far-right Northern League are in the final steps of forming a government under premier-designate Giuseppe Conte. The task hasn’t been an easy one so far, as the two parties’ often antagonistic policy platforms have made for an arduous negotiation process, even spawning a ‘conciliation committee’ to settle internal differences before they can reach the light of day. These frictions have been laid bare in the two parties’ coalition contract – a laundry list of goals that, though softened from earlier proposals, will still cause hardened EU bureaucrats to blanche.

Here’s an examination of the most important points of the coalition contract, and what they might mean for the Italy’s politics and economy going forward: