Italian PM Conte to resign on Tuesday, seek fresh mandate

The prime minister, who has been in office since June 2018, hopes President Sergio Mattarella will give him the mandate to form a new government with broader backing in parliament, senior government sources said, Reuters reported.

Conte lost his majority in the upper house Senate last week when the centrist Italia Viva party led by former premier Matteo Renzi quit the coalition in a row over the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis and economic recession.

Conte’s efforts to lure centrist and independent senators to the government’s ranks have met little success.

The cabinet is convened for 9 a.m (0800 GMT), at which Conte “will inform his ministers of his intention to resign. He will then go to see President Sergio Mattarella,” the cabinet office statement said.

ZZ/PR