1st Ld: Italian prime minister-designate resigns mandate

By Stefania Fumo

ROME, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Italian prime minister-designate Giuseppe Conte has resigned after failing to form a government, presidential secretary Ugo Zampetti said Sunday.

President Sergio Mattarella tasked Conte with a mandate to form a new government last Wednesday.

Conte was put forward by the rightwing League and the populist Five Star Movement, the two top vote-getters in Italy's inconclusive March 4 election, as their choice for prime minister. Enditem