Rome, Jan 15 (IANS): Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told President Sergio Mattarella that he will address Parliament rather than offering his resignation after one of his coalition allies withdrew its support, according to an official statement.

"The Prime Minister told the President of the Republic tha he wants to carry out an essential political clarification by addressing parliament," Xinhua news agency quoted the statement issued from Mattarella office on Thursday as saying.

The date for the parliamentary speech has not yet been set.

Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, now a senator who leads the Italia Viva party, pulled out of the ruling majority on Wednesday, triggering a government crisis.

Italy's current coalition government is backed by the center-left Democratic Party, the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, and Italia Viva, the party that Renzi founded in late 2019.

Conte now needs to find another political ally with enough votes in Parliament to give him a new majority.

If this effort fails and Conte resigns, it will be up to Mattarella to sound out Italy's political forces in order to form a new government to guide Italy through the end of the current legislature's natural five-year term, in March 2023.

If Mattarella also fails and no new governing coalition can be found, Italian voters will be called to a snap election.

Italy's last general election was held in March 2018.