ROME, March 21 (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister
Giorgia Meloni was meeting allies on Tuesday to discuss who to
pick for the top jobs at key state-run firms, political sources
said.

Several senior roles are up for grabs in the coming days,
including the chairmen and CEOs of energy groups Eni
and Enel, bailed-out bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena
(MPS) and defence group Leonardo.

Transport Minister Matteo Salvini and Economy Minister
Giancarlo Giorgetti attended the meeting for the League party,
the sources said, while Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia was
represented by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Gianni Letta,
the media tycoon’s right-hand man.

Rome has to decide by March 26 whether to confirm Luigi
Lovaglio as CEO of Monte dei Paschi.

Last November Lovaglio helped the Treasury pull off a 2.5
billion euro ($2.69 billion) new share issue in which Rome
pumped 1.6 billion euros into the bank.

The Treasury owns a 64% stake in MPS following a 2017
bailout that has already cost taxpayers 5.4 billion euros.

Giorgetti favours keeping Lovaglio, the sources said, adding
that discussions were still ongoing.

Nicola Maione, an outgoing MPS board member and lawyer, is
among those shortlisted to become chairman.

Reuters reported in January that Meloni was considering
replacements for Enel CEO Francesco Starace, while Eni chief
executive Claudio Descalzi appeared on track to secure a record
fourth mandate.

Stefano Donnarumma, chief executive of power grid Terna
, is seen as the frontrunner to replace Starace.

Lorenzo Mariani, managing director of European missile
maker MBDA in Italy, and former Ecological Transition Minister
Roberto Cingolani are candidates to take over from Alessandro
Profumo as CEO of defence firm Leonardo.

Berlusconi’s Forza Italia is pushing for allies to appoint
Paolo Scaroni as the new chairman of Enel, a senior party source
told Reuters. Scaroni has previously been CEO at both Enel and
Eni.

Meloni, Italy’s first female prime minister, has said she
wanted to appoint a woman at the helm of a major state-run
company, but has not publicly indicated names or firms.

Negotiations among the ruling parties usually go down to the
wire and sometimes change unexpectedly on political vagaries.

($1 = 0.9282 euros)
(Additional reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Gavin Jones)