Italy's prime minister Giuseppe Conte will offer his resignation to the president today, Tuesday 26 January, his office said. Conte has convened his cabinet at 09.00, during which he will inform his ministers of his intention to resign. From there he will go to the Quirinale to see President Sergio Mattarella, reports Italian news agency ANSA.

Conte is hoping that Mattarella will give him a mandate to form a stronger government, according to senior government sources, after the premier lost his majority last week. The government was plunged into crisis after the centrist Italia Viva (IV)  party led by former premier Matteo Renzi withdrew from the nation’s ruling coalition, leaving Conte without a parliamentary majority.