Mr Massimo d'Alema, the ex-Communist leader of Democratic Left, was yesterday sworn in as Prime Minister of Italy's 56th post-war government, writes Paddy Agnew. Given a mandate by State President Mr Oscar Luigi Scalfaro only on Monday, Mr d'Alema wasted little time in assembling a cabinet which contains 11 survivors from the centre-left "Olive" coalition led by his predecessor, Mr Romano Prodi.
As expected, Mr d'Alema has sought to reassure Italy's senior European partners by confirming Mr Carlo Azeglio Ciampi as Treasury Minister and Mr Lamberto Dini as Foreign Minister. Again as expected, cabinet postings have been awarded to the two minority parties - the centrist ex-Christian Democrat UDR and the Marxist Party of Italian Communists. The UDR has been awarded the ministries of Defence, Communications and Parliamentary Liaison, while the Italian Communists have been given Justice and Regional Affairs.