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After being re-elected as president of the Italian Republic on April 20, Giorgio Napolitano is expected to approve the formation of a new government as early as today.

The centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party (PDL) are obliged to work together again, after supporting Mario Monti’s “technocratic” government, and are currently negotiating who will lead it.

After the candidacy of Florence mayor and probable next PD leader Matteo Renzi, 38, was vetoed by Berlusconi, former PM Giuliano Amato, 75, was considered the frontrunner, but support is now growing for 46-year-old PD deputy secretary Enrico Letta.

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In any case, the new government should number no more than 12 ministers, with non-party figures in the key posts, and is highly unlikely to last more than a year, says Corriere.

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