Italy’s Renzi resigns as Democratic Party leader after election defeat

Alberto Pizzoli | AFP | Getty Images

Former Prime Minister and leader of the Democratic Party (PD), Matteo Renzi, gives a press conference a day after Italy’s general elections on March 5, 2018 at the PD headquarters in Rome. Renzi, leader of the ruling centre-left Democratic Party, said he was resigning after the party suffered a crushing defeat in Sunday’s general elections.

Matteo Renzi, the head of Italy’s Democratic Party, resigned on Monday following a humiliating defeat in national elections.

Renzi, 43, also said he believed the party should not make any post-election pacts with “extremist parties” and will be in opposition to the next government.