Rome, April 23: Italy's president Sergio Mattarella on Monday asked the lower house of parliament's Speaker Roberto Fico to hold talks with the populist Five-Star Movement and the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) in a fresh bid to form a government after the inconclusive March 4 national election.
Mattarella "has given the task of verifying the scope for a possible parliamentary majority between the Five-Star Movement and the PD with a view to forming a government," presidential palace spokesman Ugo Zampetti told journalists.
Fico has "until Thursday" to report back to Mattarella on his efforts, he added.
Five-Star emerged as the largest parliamentary party in last month's election in which the far-right League party also made strong gains.
The centre-left coalition led by outgoing leader Matteo Renzi came third in the ballot - well behind the centre-right alliance and Five-Star - and the PD won 18.72 percent of votes in its worst-ever electoral result.
Three previous rounds of consultations this month with Italy's main parties failed amid a mesh of seemingly irreconcilable political demands.
The League, the dominant party in the centre-right bloc - which has the most seats in parliament - and Five-Star have both claimed first bid to form a government. But the PD - which had vowed to into opposition after its hammering at the polls - has the numbers in parliament to play kingmaker.
No party or bloc has a clear majority in the hung parliament that resulted from the election.
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Three of family killed as car overturns in Mandya
Mandya (PTI): Three members of a family, two of them women, were killed when the car they were travelling in overturned and fell into a ditch on Sunday, police said.
The driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a bridge on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru National Highway at Nagamangala in Mandya district, police added.
The deceased were identified as Chandregowda (62) and Sarojamma (57), both residents of Chikkamagaluru. They were returning to their hometown when the accident occurred, police sources said.
In another incident near Agaralinganna Doddi in Maddur taluk, a private bus overturned on a service road, injuring more than 30 people. Locals helped rescue the passengers after the accident.
The passengers were travelling to Bengaluru after visiting the Shimsha Maramma temple in Malavalli. The injured were taken to hospitals in Mandya and Maddur for treatment.
