Italian prime minister announces resignation

Resignation comes amid political crisis as Interior Minister Salvini withdraws from coalition, forcing snap ballot

By Baris Seckin

ROME (AA) - Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that he would resign on Tuesday following an address at the country's senate.

Italy had went into political crisis after Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini called for snap elections and submitted a no-confidence vote for the current government.

Tensions within the coalition between Salvini’s right-wing League party and the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) have recently mounted over an infrastructure project involving a high-speed rail link with France.

Both parties blamed each other for the deep divisions in the coalition, prompting Salvini to call for new elections.

M5S and the League party formed a coalition government on June 1, 2018 under the leadership of technocrat Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

* Writing by Fatih Hafiz Mehmet

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