This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Italy’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and its far-right partner, the League, appeared to be on the verge of signing a government deal on Thursday after overcoming outstanding divisive issues. However, they gave no hint over which party would lead the alliance.

Luigi Di Maio, the leader of M5S, emerged from a meeting with the League’s counterpart Matteo Salvini saying a pact could be sealed by Thursday evening.

“I think we will close the contract this evening,” he said. “This afternoon we will get contributions that will allow us to adjust the document for style and technicality.”

On the question of prime minister, he said: “We are still working that out”.

Both leaders said the final policy document would be put to their voters before being submitted to the president, Sergio Mattarella, who has the final say on the contract, prime minister and cabinet lineup.



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The parties, which between them won more than 50% in national elections on 4 March, have been locked in negotiations for the past week.

There were tremors across Europe on Wednesday after a draft of their plan published by Huffington Post Italy revealed proposals to ask the European central bank to wipe out €250bn of debt as well as set up procedures allowing EU member states to exit the euro.

Di Maio referred to the early draft as being “just notes”. Plans to leave the euro appear to have been dropped while the latest accord could see them instead seek a “debt discount”.

Other policies reported to have made it into the latest version include a pledge to withdraw sanctions against Russia and an attempt to renegotiate EU treaties, including the Dublin accord on asylum seekers, while upping the expulsion of illegal immigrants.

Immigration appeared to be the sticking point between the two parties earlier this week, with Salvini saying he wanted his party to have a free rein at cracking down on “the business” of illegal immigration and that the new administration would only begin “if it can do things”.

The 45-year-old went one step further on Wednesday and pledged to scrap the previous administration’s “€50bn migration reception” policy.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Matteo Salvini (centre), the leader of Italy’s far-right League party. Photograph: Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

The contract reportedly stipulates that unregistered Roma camps should be shut down; religious leaders should be registered with the state and services conducted in Italian; and the funding of mosques and other religious centres should be traceable.

The parties plan to build more prisons and hire up to 10 thousand new police officers. Di Maio, 31, said earlier this week that tax evaders would be jailed.

The duo will be under pressure to deliver the costly economic promises made to an austerity-weary electorate, such as cutting taxes, introducing a universal basic income and scrapping a 2011 pension reform that increased the retirement age. But with Italy’s public debt at more than 130% of GDP, the measures will be difficult to achieve, undoubtedly leading to clashes with the EU.

Other policies are said to include overhauling parliament and giving more autonomy and funding to the regions, as well as a funding pact intended to “bring dignity back to Rome” in a bid to resolve the capital’s long-running administrative issues.

Despite doubts over their unlikely union, Di Maio and Salvini became more emboldened to strike a deal after warnings from the European commission against the formation of a government that would disregard the bloc’s stability and growth pact or jeopardise Italy’s migrant policy.

They were particularly irked by a piece on Tuesday in the Financial Times whose headline described them as “modern barbarians”. “It’s better to be a barbarian than a slave that sells Italy’s dignity, future, businesses and borders,” Salvini said in a video on Facebook.