Italy PM to resign on Tuesday after cabinet meeting - cabinet office
FILE PHOTO: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte addresses senators in Rome, Italy January 19, 2021. Andreas Solaro/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will hand in his resignation to the head of state on Tuesday after convening the cabinet to inform ministers of his decision, the cabinet office said.
Conte hopes President Sergio Mattarella will give him a mandate to form a new government with broader backing in parliament, political sources said.
Conte lost his absolute majority in the upper house Senate last week when a junior partner, the Italia Viva party headed by former premier Matteo Renzi, quit in a row over the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis and economic recession.
Reporting By Gavin Jones, editing by Angelo Amante
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