Draghi Wins Five Star Backing as Cingolani Tapped for Green Job

(Bloomberg) -- The biggest party in Italy’s parliament swung its weight behind Premier-designate Mario Draghi as he prepares to form a government, with Roberto Cingolani of Leonardo SpA set to head a new green ministry.

Members of the Five Star Movement, which has anti-establishment roots and has long denounced bankers and technocrats, voted online by 59% in favor of backing the former head of the European Central Bank. They were asked whether they wanted the movement to support a Draghi-led government which would place strong emphasis on green policies.

Draghi has now forged a parliamentary majority following two rounds of talks with political leaders, and he’s expected to report back to President Sergio Mattarella with his cabinet picks as early as this week. Other backers include the center-left Democratic Party and the anti-migrant League of Matteo Salvini.

New Minister

Cingolani, chief technology and innovation officer at Leonardo, is set to head the ministry for ecological transition, according to people familiar with the matter. The ministry will be responsible for spending on green projects under the European Union’s recovery package.

Cingolani, who is also a Ferrari NV board member, declined to comment via Leonardo’s press office. A representative for Draghi did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Five Star urged Draghi to create the ministry in talks earlier this week.

In his meetings with party leaders Draghi has prioritized countering the pandemic and kick-starting Italy’s vaccination campaign, reviving the economy using the country’s 209 billion-euro ($254 billion) share of the EU package, and pushing for a common euro-area budget.

Five Star’s online vote exacerbated tensions within the party, with Alessandro Di Battista, one of its most prominent members, saying after the outcome was announced that he’d leave the movement. As many as ten Five Star lawmakers could follow suit, Corriere della Sera reported Friday.

Numerically, Draghi does not need Five Star in order to govern, though the party’s support will allow him to muster wide consensus across the political spectrum. Onc he’s presented his ministerial choices to Mattarella, it’s up to the head of state to formally appoint them.

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