Political novice Giuseppe Conte has been appointed prime minister of Italy after winning the approval of President Sergio Mattarella, the secretary of the presidential palace said on Wednesday.

The appointment came after 11 weeks of political wrangling among the jigsaw of political parties that emerged in March elections.
Conte, a 53-year-old law professor with no political experience, was nominated by Matteo Salvini of the far-right League and Luigi Di Maio of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement.

The two populist parties secured the most votes in the March 4 election. But voters did not return a majority to any single party, and neither politician would concede the top job to the other.

Conte said that he supported centre-left political ideals when he joined the Five Star Movement during the recent election. He was mentioned as a potential Public Administration minister in the event that the Five Star Movement won a clear majority.

Conte’s nomination was briefly called into question after media reports surfaced accusing him of embellishing parts of his curriculum vitae. The Five Star movement rejected accusations that Conte embellished his qualifications.

“There’s no reference [in his CV] to masters or other university titles, but the simple and accurate description of his work as a scholar and university professor,” the movement said in a post on its official blog.

After a 90-minute meeting Wednesday with President Mattarella behind closed doors, Conte accepted the post “with reservations.”

Addressing reporters after accepting the post, Conte emphasized the importance of Italy remaining in the European Union and promised that his would be a “government of change.”

“I will be the defense attorney for all Italians,” he said, echoing populist sentiments often heard by the Five Star Movement politicians during the campaign.

Those who oppose Conte and the League-Five Star Movement coalition cite a 58-page contract the two leaders signed prior to naming Conte.

In the dossier, they outlined an ambitious spending package but did not provide concrete plans to pay for it. Vincenzo Boccia, the head of Italy’s main industrial lobby, expressed concern about the economic stability of the plan at a conference in Rome on Wednesday.

After Conte accepted his new job at the presidential palace, Italian media broadcast footage of him refusing a state-provided limousine. Instead, he took a city taxi to his first official engagement with the president of the lower house of deputies in central Rome.

It was a simple gesture, no doubt meant to send an important message.

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