![Italian outgoing Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, left, hands over the cabinet minister bell to new Prime Minister Mario Draghi [Andrew Medichini/Pool via Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/2021-02-13T122347Z_1672677545_RC2ORL944NUJ_RTRMADP_3_ITALY-POLITICS.jpg?resize=770%2C513)
ROME, Feb 13 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Italian government formed by newly-appointed Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who was also the former chief of the European Central Bank (ECB), was officially sworn in on Saturday.
Draghi formally accepted the mandate on Friday evening after meeting President Sergio Mattarella. The former ECB chief had received the task on Feb. 3, following the collapse of the previous government led by Giuseppe Conte after a junior ally pulled out of the coalition.
The ceremony took place at the Quirinal presidential palace on Saturday noon. The new cabinet counts 23 ministers, comprising 15 political figures and 8 technical ones.
Next week, the cabinet will have to go before parliament for the necessary double votes of confidence in the senate and lower house, respectively.
During consultations with parties before formally accepting his mandate, Draghi received the support of all the political forces in parliament but one.
A key priority for his government will be related to the plan to allocate the 209-billion-euro (253 billion U.S. dollars) package the European Union (EU) will provide to restart the Italian economy.
A national Resilience and Recovery Plan has already been outlined by the previous government, which specified the macro-areas of intervention, and the necessary reforms to relaunch the country.
The new cabinet will have to complete the plan, eventually amending it, before submitting it to the European Commission for approval by April. — NNN-XINHUA
