Italian president needs time to consider prime minister: source

Italian President Sergio Mattarella leaves after speaking to the media during the second day of consultations at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy, April 5, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/Files

ROME (Reuters) - Italian President Sergio Mattarella needs time to consider a request by the anti-system 5-Star Movement and far-right League to nominate a political novice as prime minister, a source close to the president said on Monday.

The 5-Star and League earlier in the day asked the president to appoint a little-known law professor, Giuseppe Conte, to head the coalition government they want to form.

Mattarella has not yet summoned Conte to give him a mandate but has instead called in the heads of the lower and upper houses of parliament for meetings on Tuesday to discuss the situation.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Gavin Jones)