Italy's League leader asks president for mandate to form govt

Rome: The leader of Italy's far-right League, Matteo Salvini, said on Monday he had asked the president to give him a mandate to try to form a government to end two months of deadlock following an inconclusive election.
"We trust that the president will give us the chance to find a majority in parliament," Salvini told reporters after meeting President Sergio Mattarella at the head of a centre-right alliance of parties.
The March 4 ballot produced a hung parliament, with the centre-right bloc taking the most seats, and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement emerging as the biggest single party. It was far from clear if Salvini could muster enough votes in parliament to form a government.