Italy coalition agrees EU Minister Savona should be Consob chief: source

ROME (Tuesday Feb 05, 2019) – Italy’s coalition parties, the League and 5-Star Movement, have agreed that euro-sceptic EU Affairs Minister Paolo Savona should be the next head of Consob, the country’s market watchdog, sources revealed today.

There was no immediate comment from either Savona or the 5-Star Movement.

The nomination still must be ratified by Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who last year refused to let Savona become economy minister, fearing his anti-euro views could undermine Italy’s international standing and upset financial markets.

The top Consob job has been vacant since last September when the then-president, Mario Nava, resigned under pressure from the League and 5-Star because of his continued ties to the European Commission, where he had previously worked.

However, the two coalition parties have struggled to find a compromise candidate and Mattarella last week shot down a proposal that economist Marcello Minenna should take the post.