Amid political deadlock after Italy's inconclusive national election last month, head of state Sergio Mattarella summoned Senate speaker Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati on Wednesday, the presidential palace announced.
Casellati is from the conservative Forza Italia party, part of the centre-right alliance which won the largest share of votes (37 percent) in the 4 March election that led to a hung parliament.
Mattarella is expected to hand Casellati an exploratory mandate to try and form a government. Two rounds of talks between Mattarella and party leaders this month failed to end the political stalemate.
