Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday submitted his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella.
Draghi’s resignation which will plunge the European Union’s third-largest economy into fresh political turmoil comes after several key parties in his coalition– the powerful 5-Star movement, the largest party in the country’s coalition government, centre-right Forza Italia and the far-right League — boycotted a confidence vote in the government Wednesday night, CNN reports.
Mattarella, who accepted the resignation, is scheduled to meet with the speakers of Parliament on Thursday afternoon, the presidential palace said in a statement. The next step is to call for a snap election.
Last week, Draghi first tendered his resignation after the 5-Star movement withdrew its support in a parliamentary confidence vote on a package designed to tackle Italy’s cost-of-living crisis.
Draghi had previously said that he would not lead a government that did not include 5-Star.
That resignation, however, was rejected by Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella, who urged him to stay and find a solution.
On Thursday, the FTSEMIB, Italy’s main stock market, was down more than 2.5% after the country’s government was left on the brink of collapse.
