Matteo Renzi formally sworn in as Italian PM

February 23, 2014 00:00:00

ITALY : Italy\'s newly appointed Prime Minister Matteo Renzi ( C ) gestures next to Italian Interior minister Angelino Alfano (L), Foreign Affairs minister Federica Mogherini ( R) ,Health minister Beatrice Lorenzin (2nd R),Cultural Heritage and Activities

ROME, Feb 22 (AFP): Italy's Matteo Renzi was formally sworn in as Italy's youngest-ever prime minister on Saturday, at the head of a 16-strong coalition cabinet at a ceremony led by President Giorgio Napolitano.

The former mayor of Florence was charged by Napolitano to form a government after engineering the ouster of his predecessor, and the 39-year-old's cabinet is the youngest in Italy's history.

Centre-left leader Matteo Renzi takes over the reigns of the eurozone's third largest economy in a period of increasing frustration among ordinary Italians hard hit by a deep recession and weary of broken political promises.

In his 16-strong cabinet, unveiled late on Friday, half of the new ministers are women and-with an average age of 47.8 years-it is the youngest government in Italy's history. It is also the third unelected government to be sworn in in as many years.

Renzi is "gambling on freshness, newness and energy", but "doubts must be raised over the government's experience and ability to have a bearing on the worst post-war economic crisis Italy has known," said political watcher Mario Calabresi in La Stampa daily.

Il Sole 24 Ore financial daily warned that "Italians are waiting for reforms, not just pretty smiles."

European partners will be watching closely to see whether the 39-year-old can revolutionise the halls of power after ousting his predecessor Enrico Letta for failing to enact reforms in a country often perceived as stifled by corruption and bureaucracy.

The new prime minister had made it clear he was reluctant to keep a team that worked with Letta, but many analysts expressed surprise over the former Florence mayor's decision to change the majority of posts, including key offices such as foreign minister.

"Renzi seems to be betting everything on himself, on his political energy," editorialist Ezio Mauro for La Repubblica daily said, while Marco Travaglio in Il Fatto Quotidiano described the new cabinet as "a boiled chicken soup which disappoints even the most lukewarm expectations."