Italy's prime minister, Enrico Letta, will step down after the leadership of his centre-left party deserted him for Matteo Renzi, a telegenic and smooth-talking rival who cites Tony Blair as a role model and now looks likely to become the country's youngest premier in modern history.
At the conclusion of a power struggle between the two Democratic party (PD) heavyweights, Letta issued a statement saying he would tender his resignation to President Giorgio Napolitano at the Quirinale palace.
In a speech to the PD leadership, Renzi acknowledged that there were problems inherent in the strategy, describing it as "a difficult choice" full of risk. But, he said, an election now, under the country's existing electoral laws, which helped create deadlock following last year's vote – would be pointless. And the risk of forming a new administration would be worthwhile if it led to one that could last until 2018 and drive through the constitutional, electoral and bureaucratic reforms the country needed, he argued.
Letta was parachuted into power last April after Pier Luigi Bersani, the then PD leader, failed to entice Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment movement into a coalition. Letta then formed a coalition with Berlusconi, a decision which cost him the support of many in his party.
