Muscat to call on Renzi on Thursday

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat will meet newly appointed Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Thursday.

Muscat will be the first foreign leader to meet Renzi who was sworn in as Italy's Prime Minister on Saturday.

This will be Muscat's second visit to Palazzo Chigi in less than a year. In July he had visited Renzi's predecessor Enrico Letta, who was last week forced to resign after 10 months at the helm of a fragile, often-squabbling coalition.

The 39-year-old Renzi forced party rival Letta to resign as prime minister after criticising his government's failure to pass major reforms, opening the way for Italy's third unelected administration in a row.

Renzi, who leads the centre-left Democratic Party, unveiled his government on Friday and said the broad coalition would bring hope to the economically stagnant country.

After formally accepting the mandate to form the government, Renzi said he would waste no time in enacting one reform every month.

Today, Renzi, Italy's youngest premier, faces his first crucial vote of confidence in the senate. While his majority is likely to be tight, he is still expected to come through today's vote without problems, given that he will be relying on almost exactly the same centre-left, centre-right coalition his predecessor enjoyed.