Third Italian PM in less than 3 years resigns
Amid economic crisis, Italy’s Letta submits resignation after only 10 months in power.
ROME
Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta submitted his resignation to President Giorgio Napolitano on Friday after the biggest coalition partner the Democratic Party pulled its support on Thursday.
Political instability is nothing new to Italy which has had three different governments since November 2011.
In a statement on Thursday the 47-year-old Letta said he would hand in his resignation on Friday.
The government's debt burden has grown to over €2 trillion and reached 130.4 percent of the gross domestic product in 2013.
It is widely believed that Democratic Party leader Matteo Renzi will replace Letta.
The ruling Democratic Party voted to withdraw its support for Letta and open the door for party leader Renzi to become Italy's new prime minister.
"Italy cannot live in a situation of uncertainty and instability. We are at a crossroads," Renzi said at a meeting of the Democratic Party on Thursday.
Renzi called on the Democratic Party to back a new "radical program" and a government that could last until the end of the legislature in 2018.
In November 2011, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, resigned after weeks of political tension in the Italian parliament.
Under Berlusconi's government Italy´s public debt was more than 120 percent of the GDP.
After Berlosconi's resignation, technocrat Mario Monti was appointed by the parliament as a caretaker prime minister and remained in power until the February 2013 general elections.
The elections ended with no party having enough of a majority in the parliament to form a government, which resulted in the formation of a coalition government
According to the IMF, Italy was the ninth-largest economy in the world and the third-largest in the EU.
Politicians in the country have been publicly squabbling as the country's economic woes continue.
Italy's unemployment rate increased to 12.70 percent in November 2013, up from 12.50 percent in October according to the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT).
The ISTAT ´s most recent data has shown that the number of Italian families who live in poverty is on the rise, while a record number of businesses have filed for bankruptcy.
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