Renzi takes up the task of forming new Italian government

Official consultations begin today as the Italian centre-left leader Matteo Renzi begins his uphill struggle to try and form a government.

He needs to make a deal with the small centre-right NCD party to secure a parliamentary majority and name his cabinet.

That means coming up with a programme acceptable to widely differing political outlooks.

“Hope never dies,” said one Rome resident. “But I do not expect much because Renzi will not get the majority he needs.”

But others appeared to be more up-beat about the ‘new kid on the block’ : “I expect what everybody else expects: that he solves people’s problems: create jobs, give us some sense of well-being.”

Renzi rhetoric includes creating jobs, cutting taxes and slashing bureaucracy. But if he gets a majority he will still be faced with having to deal with an unwieldy coalition.

The Mayor of Florence is set to become the country’s youngest ever Prime Minister at just 39 years old.

After a meeting at the presidential palace in Rome, he spoke of a “sense of urgency” and promised “courage and energy” from his new administration.