How will Italy position itself in Europe?

Italy's new Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte now heads western Europe's first anit-establishment government bent on overhauling European Union rules on budgets and immigration.

It comes as Saturday marks the birth of the Italian Republic, the day in 1946 when Italians voted in a referendum to abolish the monarchy.

Euronews takes a look at how the country will position itself in Europe.

Gioia Salvatori from euronews: "Everyone is waiting to know what the new government will do, some with confidence, others with fear. What is certain is that one of the first tasks of the new government will be to make clear what is their position on public debt, and on relations with Europe and the great world powers".

As Italy's President Sergio Mattarella was sworn in on Friday, thousands joined a demonstration in Rome in support of Mattarella.

Maurizo Martina, Acting Secretary of the Democratic Party (DP) party says, "We will assess this government immediately from the choices it will make, in particular in Europe. Certainly we will not allow the new government to take backward steps to guarantee Italy for the new Europe.

Italy now has the first populist anti-system government in Western Europe. Euronews asks an Italian journalist, why this has happened?

Mario Sechi journalist, editor in chief of blog NewsList says, "(This) happened in Italy because Italy has always been confirmed as a great political laboratory. We had Berlusconi who was basically the Trump of 1994. We had, first of all, an anti-system party with Beppe Grillo in 2012-13; and now we have the first government composed of forces that once defined themselves as anti-system and now I would define them Eurocritical because they are about to become a new system.