Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte Will Resign Today

Giuseppe Conte. (Sumber: Wikimedia Commons / Government)

JAKARTA - Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will hand over his resignation to Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Tuesday, January 26 local time.

The resignation of Conte, who has served since 2018, was submitted after he lost the majority of support in the upper house senate last week. Basically, the handling of the corona virus crisis and the economic recession in Italy.

"The cabinet convenes at 9 am (0800 GMT), during which Conte will inform his ministers of his intention to resign. He will then go to meet President Sergio Mattarella," said a Cabinet Office statement.

Senior sources in the government said this resignation was followed by the hope of Conte getting a mandate from President Sergio Mattarella to form a new government, with broader support in parliament.

Italy has had 66 governments since World War II and its governments are regularly dismantled and then reunited in tortuous behind-the-scenes talks that paved the way for a cabinet reshuffle and policy review.

However, once a prime minister resigns, there are no guarantees that a new coalition can form, and there is always the risk that early elections will end up as the only viable solution.