New round of talks for Italian government from Thursday

Rome April 10 (IANS/AKI) Italy s President Sergio Mattarella will on Thursday resume consultations with parliamentary party leaders on a new government the presidential Quirinale palace said on Tuesday.

Mattarella s first meeting will be with the centre-left Democratic Party which came third in last month s inconclusive national polls. It has the numbers in parliament to play kingmaker in the formation of a coalition government but has so far vowed to go into opposition.

He will then hold talks with the centre-right alliance - the biggest parliamentary group - which is claiming first bid to try and form a government.

The populist Five-Star Movement - the party with most parliamentary seats which also claims the right to form a government - has the last slot on Friday to meet Mattarella according to the Quirinale.

Earlier on Thursday Mattarella will meet representatives of Italy s smaller parties the Quirinale said.

On Friday Mattarella will meet his predecessor Giorgio Napolitano followed by lower house of parliament s Speaker Roberto Fico from Five-Star and Senate speaker Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati from the centre-right Forza Italia party the Quirinale said.

Two days of consultations last week failed to break the political deadlock after the March 4 national election led to a hung parliament.

League leader Matteo Savini - whose party is the largest in the centre-right alliance - has urged fresh polls if Five-Star leader Luigi di Maio refuses to govern with the centre-right due to Forza Italia leader Silvio Berlusconi s tax fraud conviction or to compromise on the role of premier.

Mattarella on the other hand is keen to avoid more elections this year and wants to have a workable coalition government in place by a European Union heads of state and government summit taking place in Brussels on June 28 La Repubblica daily reported on Monday.

--IANS/AKI
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