GENOA: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has officially stepped down in order to try to form a government with wider support, and the consultations with the parties with a view to finding a new parliamentary majority will start on Wednesday afternoon, according to the official statement from the presidential palace.

“President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella received this morning the President of the Council of Ministers Giuseppe Conte, who handed in the resignation of the government that he presides. The president of the republic has decided to invite the government to remain in charge to handle the current affairs. The consultations [with the parties] will start in the afternoon of tomorrow, Wednesday, January 27,” Ugo Zampetti, secretary of the presidency of the republic, said in a press statement