Italian president asks Democratic Party to form government

Italian president Giorgio Napolitano today asked Democratic Party leader Pier Luigi Bersani to try to form a government, a month after inconclusive elections.

Mr Bersani will consult with other parties in the next few days to muster enough support to form a government that can survive the required confidence votes in both houses of parliament.

In the February election, Mr Bersani won a majority in the lower house though he fell short in the senate where both Beppe Grillo's Five Star movement and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's coalition won blocking minorities.