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Italy’s president opens government talks after PM Giuseppe Conte resigns

  • Conte stepped down after losing a parliamentary majority but is hoping to return at the head of a strengthened government
  • The head of state is set to meet the presidents of both parliamentary chambers before talks on Thursday and Friday with party leaders

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Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Photo: dpa
Agence France-Presse
Italy’s president will begin discussions with political leaders on Wednesday on forming a new government following the resignation of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
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Conte stepped down on Tuesday after divisions in the ruling coalition left him without a parliamentary majority but is hoping to return at the head of a strengthened government.

President Sergio Mattarella, the ultimate arbiter of Italian politics, asked Conte to stay on while he establishes if this is viable – or if someone else should take over.

The head of state is set to meet the presidents of both parliamentary chambers before talks on Thursday and Friday with party leaders.

The turmoil comes at a crucial time for Italy, as it seeks to draft a 220-billion-euro (US$267 billion) spending plan for European Union funds intended to help the country recover from the coronavirus crisis.

Italy was the first European country to face the full force of the pandemic and has since suffered badly, with the economy plunged into recession and deaths still rising by around 400 a day. More than 86,000 people have died.

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Parts of the country remain under partial lockdown and the vaccination programme has slowed – a problem the government has blamed on delays in deliveries from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.

Italy has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 86,000 people dead. Photo: Bloomberg
Italy has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 86,000 people dead. Photo: Bloomberg
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