MILAN – Former Italian Premier Matteo Renzi formally resigned Monday as leader of the Democratic Party following its crushing defeat in the latest parliamentary election.
Party leaders named Maurizio Martina, who has served as agriculture minister in the outgoing government, as the Democratic Party's interim leader.
Italian news agency ANSA quoted Martina as saying that the Democrats would follow Renzi's plan to remain in the opposition and not join any government.
No party or coalition won enough votes in the March 4 election to govern alone. Arduous talks will determine if either anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, the party with the most votes, or the center-right coalition led by the anti-immigrant League, which would control more parliamentary seats, can form a stable government.
Martina said the League and the 5-Stars "don't have any alibis now" and should "take their responsibility" to form a government.
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