Berlusconi forms new government

Conservative leader Silvio Berlusconi has formed Italy’s 62nd post-war government, his third stint as the country’s prime minister.

Mr Berlusconi received the mandate after a meeting today with the country’s president, Giorgio Napolitano. He will be sworn in tomorrow.

The government must then win a confidence vote in parliament, where the conservatives enjoy a comfortable majority.

Mr Berlusconi, 71, scored a commanding victory in a general election last month, ousting centre-left rivals who had been in power for less than two years.

He served as premier for a short-lived tenure in 1994 and a record-breaking term between 2001 and 2006.