Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi tendered his resignation on Thursday, July 21, signaling the start of fresh elections in the European nation.
Speaking to Parliament on Thursday, Draghi said he was going to meet with President Sergio Mattarella to inform him of his intentions after failing to unite his coalition government.
President Mattarella asked Draghi to remain in place in the interim with a caretaker government.
"Thank you for all the work we have done together over this period. After the vote took place last night by the senate of the Republic, I ask to suspend this session because I am on my way to the President of the Republic to communicate my intentions," Draghi told lawmakers early Thursday.
The resignation comes after Draghi was snubbed by coalition partners in a vote of confidence in the Senate on Wednesday, effectively collapsing the government.
Elections could take place in September or October.
Last week, Mattarella rejected Draghi's first resignation and asked him to lead more negotiations with lawmakers to form a coalition government and avoid elections.
That happened after the left wing party, Five Star Movement opposed a new decree aimed at lowering inflation and battling rising energy costs. Italy's lawmakers held a confidence vote on the wide-ranging policy package, but Five Star boycotted the move, which angered both Draghi and the right-wing parties in the coalition.
Draghi, was then asked by Mattarella to go back to the upper house of Parliament and hold a vote of confidence in the government itself Wednesday, but that failed too.
Draghi had brought political stability to Italy for the last 15 months, which has been crucial in receiving pandemic recovery funds amounting to almost 200 billion euros ($205 billion).
