Italy's Conte wishes Draghi well, warns against technocrat govt

Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Thursday wished his designated successor Mario Draghi good luck and said he would never hamper his efforts to put together a new government.

Speaking in public for the first time since Draghi was given a mandate to head a new administration, Conte said he hoped the government would have a political nature and not be formed of just unaffiliated technocrats.

"I would like to see a political government take office, one that is solid and is sufficiently cohesive to be able to make political choices ... that cannot be entrusted to teams of technocrats," Conte said.