ROME, Italy (AP) — Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni was tapped yesterday to form a new, Democrat-led government and end a political crisis so the country can quickly tackle pressing problems, which include troubled banks, an economy resisting growth and an electoral reform aimed at finally making the nation more governable.

“I’m aware of the urgency to give Italy a government in the fullness of its powers, to reassure the citizens and to face with utmost commitment and determination international, economic and social priorities,” the 62-year-old Gentiloni said.

Italy is due to participate in a European Council meeting on Thursday in Brussels, where participants are expected to discuss key problems including migration, security and how to deal with Britain’s decision to quit the European Union.

If no snags develop, Gentiloni could be sworn in as premier early this week. He declined to make predictions, saying only: “We’re getting down to work.”

Gentiloni would take the place of fellow Democrat Matteo Renzi in the premiership. Renzi has been acting in a caretaker role as premier since he quit on December 7 after his nearly three-year-old government suffered a stinging defeat in a referendum on reforms he had staked his job on.

A new government faces a mandatory confidence vote in Parliament.

Given the banking crisis, Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan is widely expected to stay on.

The populist 5-Star Movement and other opposition forces have been clamouring for an early election. But Mattarella, in weighing who should replace Renzi, pointed out the centre-left government still commands a majority in Parliament.

“The people feel as if they’ve been taken for a ride, and want to vote who will decide their lives,” said a 5-Star lawmaker, Laura Castelli in a Facebook post that promoted the Movement’s “elections immediately” hashtag.

Renzi became Italy’s youngest-ever premier in February 2014 when he was 39. He still leads the Democratic Party, although faces internal party challenges should he bid for a return to the premiership when elections are eventually scheduled.

During his party leadership, Renzi, who leans toward the political centre, saw defections, especially from Democrats with a past in the former Communist Party.

One defector, Stefano Fassina, of the small Democratic Left party, labelled the next government a “Renzi-encore” and pushed for “elections as soon as possible”.

Mattarella has urged the next government to act on several urgent priorities. Those include a banking crisis stemming from badly performing loans amid an economy which resisted growing for several years, despite labour reforms and tax breaks during the Renzi administration.

Gentiloni also noted the pressing need for ambitious construction for several towns destroyed in recent months by earthquakes in central Italy.

The quake-struck area was rattled anew yesterday with a 4.3 quake. Reconstruction following quakes in decades past has been ripe for corruption.