ROME (AP) - Italy's president is launching another round of consultations to try to overcome the impasse from inconclusive March 4 elections, and he's expected to turn to the populist 5-Star Movement to head up talks.
President Sergio Mattarella summoned the 5-Star president of the lower chamber of deputies, Roberto Fico, to the Quirinale Palace on Monday. Mattarella will likely give Fico a mandate to explore the possibilities of finding an alliance that can win a parliamentary majority. Previous rounds have failed.
The 5-Stars were the biggest single vote-getter in the March 4 vote, but finished behind a center-right coalition made up of the right-wing League, Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia and a smaller party.
That center-right alliance won a regional election Sunday in southern Molise, boosting its standing in national talks.
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(Nicola Lanese/ANSA via AP). Leader of the Five-Star Movement, Luigi Di Maio, talks during a rally for the closing of the electoral campaign for elections in the region of Molise, in Campobasso, Italy, Friday, April 20, 2018.
(Flavio lo Scalzo/ANSA via AP). The leader of the Five-Star Movement, Luigi Di Maio, center, visits the Design Week, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, April 21, 2018. The Milan Design week is taking place in various locations across Milan from April 17 throug...