Conte, a law professor without political experience, is meeting all the groups in parliament to discuss his plans, and is unlikely to give the head of state his list of ministers before Friday evening, the 5-Star Movement said.

Plucked from obscurity by the anti-establishment party as the right man to head its coalition with the far-right League, Conte was given the mandate to form a government on Wednesday by President Sergio Mattarella.

League leader Matteo Salvini is expected to take over the interior ministry to pursue his promised crackdown on illegal immigration, while 5-Star chief Luigi Di Maio wants the labor ministry to enact his pledge to improve welfare for the poor.

Like the prime minister, neither Salvini nor Di Maio have any experience of government.

However, the economy ministry is proving most problematic - a potential clash looms between the League and Mattarella, who has the final say on ministerial appointments.

Salvini is lobbying for Paolo Savona, who has decades of experience in academia, banking and government but has spooked markets with his eurosceptic views that chime with the League’s.

Di Maio endorsed the choice on Thursday, saying he and Salvini were seeking “the best people to bring change to this country, and Savona is certainly among these.”