Italy holds government talks as Renzi readies for power

ROME, Feb 15 (AFP):- Florence mayor Matteo Renzi was poised to win the nomination to be Italy's next prime minister on Saturday following the ouster of Enrico Letta by former allies in his centre-left Democratic Party.
Party boss Renzi was set to be picked by President Giorgio Napolitano after a day of consultations with political leaders at the presidency including disgraced former premier and opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi.
The anti-establishment Five Star Movement protested what it called an undemocratic power grab by Renzi and boycotted the talks with Napolitano, saying Italians should be allowed to choose through elections.
Letta stepped down on Friday after the Democratic Party approved a motion calling for a new government proposed by the 39-year-old Renzi, an ambitious former Boy Scout who was elected to the party leadership in December.
Renzi would be Italy's youngest ever prime minister if his bid succeeds and has promised a radical programme of reforms to combat rampant unemployment, boost growth and slash the costs of Italy's weighty bureaucratic machine.