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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Evading core issue: Siddaramaiah slams Centre on sugarcane FRP in letter to Pralhad Joshi
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched a sharp attack on the Central Government Saturday, accusing it of "evading the core issue" of the widening gap between cultivation costs and the price realisation for sugarcane, which he stated has pushed lakhs of farmers into distress.
In a detailed, three-page letter to Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, Siddaramaiah dismantled the Centre's claims on the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP), ethanol blending, and financial support to the state.
The Chief Minister's letter was a direct rebuttal to one he had received from Joshi regarding the "plight of sugarcane farmers in Karnataka."
"Farcical" FRP claims
Siddaramaiah challenged the Centre's announced FRP of ₹355 per quintal at 10.25% recovery, calling the government's claim of a 105.2% margin over production cost "unfortunately, a farce."
"Every farmer in Karnataka knows that since 2014, the cost of fertilizers, labour, transportation, and other inputs have more than doubled," Siddaramaiah wrote. He contrasted this with the FRP, which he stated has increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of just 4.47% since 2014, rising from ₹210 to ₹355.
He also pointed out that the FRP was not increased for two consecutive years during the NDA regime, causing an average loss of ₹20 per quintal to farmers. This, he argued, was in stark contrast to the UPA years, when the CAGR for FRP was 12.96%.
The Chief Minister accused the Central Government of "artificially pegging higher" the recovery rate to manipulate the numbers. "While it was 9.5% during UPA, the NDA government raised it to 10.25%, reducing the effective FRP," the letter stated. "On a comparable 9.5% recovery rate, the present FRP is only ₹329 per quintal, making the real growth a meagre 3.8% CAGR. This manipulation of numbers has betrayed the farmers."
Siddaramaiah also refuted the Centre's portrayal of ethanol blending as a "boon" to the sugar sector. He argued that the financial benefits are not being passed on to the farmers.
UPA Era: With ethanol blending below 5% and 9.5% recovery, the FRP recorded a robust CAGR of 12.96%.
NDA Era: With ethanol blending at approximately 20% and 10.25% recovery, the CAGR has "dropped to just 3.8%."
He noted that ethanol supply from Karnataka distilleries has only "marginally" increased from 38 crore litres in 2022-23 to 47 crore litres in 2024-25, despite an installed capacity of 270 crore litres.
The larger question remains unanswered," he wrote, "why has the benefit of ethanol blending not been passed on to the farmers?
The Chief Minister made several demands and accusations:
New MSP mechanism: He urged the Centre to devise a new MSP for sugar that categorises "domestic and commercial consumption separately," so that higher profits from commercial sales are reflected in the price paid to farmers.
Data transparency: Challenging claims that the Centre has provided "substantial financial assistance" to sugar mills, Siddaramaiah demanded the "mill-wise data" of such support in Karnataka to verify if the benefits "have truly reached the intended stakeholders."
Absence of Union Ministers: He expressed disappointment that "none of the Union Ministers from Karnataka attended the meeting held on 7th November 2025," where stakeholders were invited to discuss the issue.
Tax devolution: He accused the Union Government of a "step-motherly attitude," claiming Karnataka has been denied "over ₹2 lakh crore" in its rightful share of tax devolution and grants over the past five years.
Siddaramaiah concluded with a direct appeal to Joshi as a "senior Union Minister from Karnataka" to "stand with the farmers."
"The real measure of governance is not in statistical claims but in the smiles on the faces of farmers," he wrote.
