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The Italian Prime Minister when he arrived at the Lower House of Parliament in Rome on August 29, 2019. REUTERS / Ciro de Luca

Giuseppe Conte gives himself until Wednesday, September 4 at the latest to present the political program of the 5-star government and Democratic Party and its list of ministers to the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. If this agenda is respected, the vote of confidence could be held Friday, September 6 in both chambers. But thorny questions about ministerial portfolios and the role of populist political leader Luigi Di Maio are unclear. He wants to preserve his position as Deputy Prime Minister and refuses a Democratic Party elected in his place.

With our correspondent in Rome, Anne Le Nir

" The beautiful wedding, " as the great daily La Repubblica quips , could be celebrated before the end of the week. After days of roller-coaster negotiations, talks between the 5-star Movement (M5S) and the Democratic Party (PD) delegations have resumed in a more relaxed way thanks to the mediation of Giuseppe Conte.

According to the President of the Council in charge of forming the new government, " a common political agenda " would be " very well advanced ". But the problems concerning the distribution of ministerial portfolios are not solved.

The political leader of the 5 stars Luigi Di Maio does not intend to sacrifice his position of vice-president of the Council, which would be necessary to mark a clear discontinuity.

Democratic Party leader Nicola Zingaretti proposes a government without a vice-president of the Council. But, for the moment, the ambiguous Di Maio does not seem convinced by this proposal.

► See also: Italy: the center left and the M5S agree on a government Tale 2