Caretaker PM seen as capable of stabilising government but first he will have to win his Rome seat

Italy’s caretaker prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, has been touted as a potential leader in a possible “grand coalition” government after national elections on Sunday, and could offer Italy a steady hand if the vote results in a hung parliament as expected.

As trepidation builds over the outcome of this most complex and unpredictable of elections, Gentiloni, who was thrust into the top job in December 2016 after predecessor Matteo Renzi’s defeat in a plebiscite on constitutional reforms, is seen by many as one of the leaders most capable of stabilising the government while sustaining recent economic gains.

However, the 63-year-old, who is described as a gentleman even by his political opponents, will first have to win a seat in his Rome 1 constituency, which encompasses the city’s historic centre and where victory is far from guaranteed.

In what the Italian media have described as “Gentilonimania”, endorsements flooded in during the campaign. Giorgio Napolitano, the widely respected former president, backed him to stay on as prime minister, saying he is “essential for governability”.



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Gentiloni is also admired beyond Italy, with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, saying in January that “Europe is very fortunate to have Mr Gentiloni in his role”.

Warm words aside, Gentiloni faces a challenge in Rome amid a shift in the national mood towards rightwing parties and the demise of his Democratic party. The municipality, which was won by Berlusconi after his first election campaign in 1994, is traditionally rightwing.

“It’s a bourgeois kind of place and only really became leftwing about a decade ago,” said Massimiliano Panarari, a politics professor at Rome’s Luiss University. “This kind of constituency tends to support a party when it is popular and the problem right now is the bandwagon effect, which is leaning more towards the centre-right.”

Gentiloni, who was born in Rome to a well-regarded family, was a virtual unknown when he was picked by Renzi, who regained leadership of the Democratic party after his referendum defeat, as foreign minister in 2014. Coming to the role with no foreign ministerial experience, analysts said at the time that he was purely being rewarded for his loyalty. Meanwhile, an attempt to become mayor of Rome in 2013 ended with him finishing third in the Democratic party’s primaries.

While Gentiloni is likely to stay on as caretaker prime minister if the vote produces a hung parliament, he had also been tipped as leader of a possible grand coalition between Forza Italia and the Democratic party, though this is not the most likely outcome of Sunday’s vote.

Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister and billionaire forced out of office in 2011 under a cloud of scandal, has said he would favour the European parliament president, Antonio Tajani, for prime minister, should the rightwing coalition he heads wins a majority in the election.

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Still, Italians have consistently ranked Gentiloni as the country’s most popular politician in polls over recent months. He is often likened to Mario Monti and Enrico Letta, two previous caretaker prime ministers.

“There is a sympathy towards Gentiloni but we still don’t know his real electoral power,” said Mattia Diletti, a politics professor at Rome’s Sapienza University. “Even Monti was popular, but he didn’t win. He’s not charismatic … he’s in government but he’s not a popular leader.”