The Italian government won on Thursday a confidence motion in the upper house of parliament on measures aimed at helping counter the cost-of-living crisis, however the 5-Star Movement carried out its threat to boycott the vote.
The motion passed by 172 to 39.
Prime Minister Mario Draghi said earlier this week his government could not continue without the support of 5-Star and has ruled out leading a coalition with a different make-up.
President Sergio Mattarella, the supreme arbiter in Italian politics, will have to decide how to resolve the crisis. He could ask Draghi to try to put his administration back together with a fresh confidence vote. If a majority cannot be secured, he will have to dissolve parliament and call early elections.
(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte; Editing by Crispian Balmer)
