What Happened After three weeks of turmoil , Italy's latest political crisis appears to be ending. On Aug. 29, Italian President Sergio Mattarella gave Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte a mandate to form a new government between the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the center-left Democratic Party. A vote in the Italian Parliament to confirm the new government is expected to take place next week. Why It Matters The alliance has delayed prospects of an early general election for at least a few months. This means that the League party (which, according to polls, would have won an early vote) will not soon ascend to power, reducing the likelihood of an Italian exit from the eurozone. Unsurprisingly, the news buoyed financial markets, sending the yield gap (or "spread") between Italian and German bonds down — a key indicator of investor confidence in Italy's ability to pay back its debt.