attempt to form a government in Italy of the Five Star (M5S) protest movement and the far-right Lega has failed, for the present. Giuseppe Conte, who was commissioned by President Sergio Mattarella to form the government after being proposed by the two parties, returned his mandate on Sunday evening after just four days.

The reason for Conte's withdrawal is Mattarella's refusal to appoint the 81-year-old Paolo Savona as minister of finance and economic affairs. The president had accepted all of the other ministerial proposals, but he rejected Savona on the grounds he planned the exit of Italy from the euro currency.

Mattarella said he was committed to protecting savers in Italy, pointing to the heightened risk premium on Italian government securities and the losses on the stock exchanges with which the financial markets had responded to the prospect of a eurosceptic government. After Conte's withdrawal, volatility on the financial markets receded.