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Rome (AP) - The populist five-star movement has decided to support a planned government of the ex-central bank chief Mario Draghi in Italy.

The populist party announced on Thursday evening.

Accordingly, around 59 percent of the members who voted in the internal vote voted yes and just under 41 voted no.

"The mandate that the members have given us today is clear: the five-star movement will support the new government," wrote interim party leader Vito Crimi on Facebook.

A total of around 74,500 of the 119,500 eligible voters voted.

The anti-establishment party is the strongest force in parliament in Rome.

With their approval, Draghi receives another positive signal that he can count on a large majority in parliament.

After being sworn in, his cabinet would have to withstand a vote of confidence in both chambers in order to govern.

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In the vote of the stars it was explicitly mentioned that Draghi was planning a “super ministry for ecological conversion”.

This information had become known the day before after Draghi's talks with organic associations.

There has been speculation in the media that the movement would like to fill this post.

The former head of the European Central Bank (ECB) had accepted the contract to form a government from President Sergio Mattarella about a week ago.

In Rome, the center-left government of Giuseppe Conte had previously lost its majority after a coalition break in January.

The 73-year-old Draghi sought a new power base for a cabinet in talks with the parliamentary parties.

After the consultations with parties and associations that had started on Wednesday, he had not disclosed anything.

Most of the parties had given Draghi their support.

However, the Five Star Movement wanted its members to vote on this matter on Wednesday.

After a call from its founder, Beppe Grillo, to wait, the vote was postponed until Thursday.

The incumbent Prime Minister Conte, who is close to the five stars, reiterated his support for Draghi in the newspaper "Corriere della Sera".

However, he warned that a broad base of diverse parties could quickly throw a new government into trouble.

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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210211-99-404442 / 3

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