Rome - Italian President Giorgio Napolitano was expected Wednesday to wrap up consultations with all political parties represented in parliament before formally asking centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi to form a government.

As head-of-state, Napolitano has been holding meetings with leaders of all six groups representing parliament which convened last week following the April 13-14 elections. The polls were won by the centre-right with a clear majority.

Berlusconi is likely to receive the mandate from Napolitano on Wednesday evening, allowing the new government to be sworn in on Thursday, news reports said.

Berlusconi has yet to reveal the full list of his proposed cabinet, but has indicated that the European Union's current top security official, Franco Frattini, will be foreign minister.

Another likely appointment is that of Giulio Tremonti as economy minister, a position he held in the last government headed by Berlusconi in 2006.

The prime minister-elect has pledged to appoint a slimmer, 12-member cabinet - including four women. The outgoing centre-left government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi had more than 20 ministers.

A controversial choice facing Berlusconi is that of former reforms minister, Roberto Calderoli, who resigned in 2006 in the wake of his appearance on television wearing a T-shirt decorated with a satirical cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed.

Following talks with Berlusconi, Calderoli on Tuesday hinted he would be nominated to head a newly created post: Minister to Simplify Legislation.

Calderoli's appointment is likely to draw criticism from Muslim nations.

Last week Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi's son, Saif el-Islam, warned of "catastrophic consequences" for Italy's relations with Libya in the event of Calderoli joining the new cabinet.

Saif el-Islam's remarks were condemned by leaders across Italy's political spectrum as an "interference" in the county's internal affairs.

Eleven people were killed in rioting near the Italian consulate in the Libyan city Benghazi on February 17, 2006, just days after Calderoli's appearance on television with the offending T-shirt.

The reforms minister, a member of the anti-immigration Northern League, defended his action as a form of freedom of expression, but subsequently resigned.

The cartoon on his T-shirt was a copy of one of a series first published in a Danish newspaper which sparked outrage among many Muslims. (dpa)