Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Italy's would-be populist prime minister faces difficult questions about accuracy of his CV

Giuseppe Conte is poised to lead the new Five Star Movement–far right coalition government

Jon Stone
Europe Correspondent
Tuesday 22 May 2018 16:35 BST
Comments
5-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio with Giuseppe Conte
5-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio with Giuseppe Conte (Reuters)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The man nominated to lead Italy’s incoming populist government as its next prime minister has been forced to fend off questions about whether he really studied at the prestigious colleges his CV claims he did.

Giuseppe Conte, a relatively unknown politician from the Five Star Movement apparently heading for the top job, said on his official 12-page résumé that he “refined” his studies of law at the world famous private New York University in 2008 and 2009.

But the Italian press erupted on Tuesday after a report in the New York Times claimed NYU had no records of the would-be prime minister ever attending the institution.

Italian daily Corriere della Sera dubbed the row “il caso del curriculum” (the case of the CV) while the country’s other major newspaper La Repubblica put the claims on its front page and published an op-ed characterising the episode as “a little embarrassing” for Mr Conte.

The country’s press has also honed in on other apparent irregularities with the document. Mr Conte also said he had attended the International Kultur Institut in Vienna to refine his legal studies. The Kultur Institut is however a language school and does not offer legal courses, according to its website.

The politician, who previously acted as the personal lawyer for Luigi Di Maio, the leader of the Five Star Movement, also claimed that he pursued his legal studies at Yale University, Duquesne University, the Sorbonne in Paris, and the University of Cambridge. Cambridge was unable to immediately confirm or deny whether Mr Conte had attended, citing confidentiality rules.

A spokesperson for the Five Star Movement said in a statement that the criticism of the would-be prime minister’s CV showed that the press was “so afraid of this government of change”.

 It is the umpteenth confirmation that they [the press] are so afraid of this government of change

M5S spokesperson

“In his curriculum Giuseppe Conte wrote with clarity that he perfected and updated his studies at New York University. But he did not cite courses or say he completed a master’s at the university,” the spokesperson said.

“Conte, like any scholar, has studied abroad, enriched his knowledge, and perfected his legal English. For a professor of his level, the opposite would have been strange. He did it and rightly wrote it in the curriculum vitae, but paradoxically this is not good now and it even becomes a fault. It is the umpteenth confirmation that the press are so afraid of this government of change.”

The populist Five Star Movement is moving to form a coalition with the far-right League party after the two groups made major gains in the country’s parliamentary elections earlier this year.

On Friday the two groups published a joint programme for government that included tax cuts, a rolling back of pension cuts, and a promise to deport irregular migrants arriving in Italy by boat. The government, if successfully formed, would be the first Eurosceptic-led cabinet to lead a major European Union core member.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in