New Italy PM could be independent figure, top 5-star member says
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's next prime minister could be an independent figure who is not a member of either the 5-Star movement or the League and a government could be sworn in next week if all goes well, a top 5-Star member said in a newspaper interview published on Friday.
"One of the hypotheses is to pick a third person who has a high profile and is trusted by Italian citizens and Italy's international partners," Vincenzo Spadafora, a close aide to 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio, told the Corriere della Sera.
The anti-establishment 5-Star and the far-right League have made "significant steps" towards forming a government to end nine weeks of political deadlock.
But one of the key remaining points of contention is who will be prime minister - De Maio or League leader Matteo Salvini.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who has the final word over the make-up of any new administration, has given the two sides until Sunday to report back to him on the prospects.
"If everything goes as it should, the new government will be sworn in by next week," Spadafora said.
(Reporting By Giselda Vagnoni, editing by Philip Pullella)
