ROME — Italy's president asked the brash young leader of the Democratic Party, Matteo Renzi, to try to form a government Monday after Renzi engineered the sacking of the previous premier in a power grab within their party.
Renzi, the 39-year-old mayor of Florence, met for more than an hour with President Giorgio Napolitano and said he had accepted the challenge with the traditional reservation used for new premier-elects to consult with potential allies. He said he would need a "few days" before formally accepting the job.
But Renzi already had his plans laid out, telling reporters that by the end of the month he would propose new legislation to reform Italy's electoral law to make the country more governable. By March he promised new measures to create jobs in a country where 40 percent of young people are without work. April and May would bring other changes, he vowed.
Just last week, Renzi had orchestrated the mutiny within the Democratic Party to oust Enrico Letta as premier, accusing him of failing to jumpstart Italy's economy. In the days after Letta's sacking, Italy reported its first positive GDP in nearly three years.