Mr Renzi has refused to form a coalition with any of the nationalist parties that proved so popular with the Italian public and has announced he will quit his leadership once a government is formed. Alessandro Di Battista of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), which has emerged as Italy’s largest party, said: "Renzi? I have never listened to such a bizarre speech, he is really confused. “In order not to actually resign, he is willing to shatter what remains of the Democratic Party. “Our line does not change. Democratic Party? It is already without Renzi”.

Mr Renzi, 43, who led the country from 2014 to 2016, announced he will leave the leadership of the party after "the establishment of the government”. He said: “It’s obvious that I must leave the helm of the Democratic Party. “We will be in the opposition: the PD will never act as a front for government made up of anti-systemic forces. “There are three things that distinguish the PD from the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and League: their anti-Europeanism, their anti-politics and the verbal hatred they have directed at Democratic Party members.”

According to preliminary results, the PD looked set to come third with about 19 percent of the vote — less than half their peak at the European elections in 2014 — while the 5Star Movement emerged as the single largest party with more than 32 percent. Mr Renzi’s popularity, and support for his party, suffered the consequences of Italy’s slow economic recovery and persistently high unemployment.

Once nicknamed 'the bulldozer' for his reformist zeal, the former mayor of Florence bet his political career on a referendum to change the constitution in 2016 — and lost. After Sunday’s inconclusive vote, no single party or coalition looks likely to be able to collect enough votes to govern alone, which could result in a hung parliament.</s>Italy’s ex-premier Matteo Renzi on Monday tendered his resignation as Democratic Party chief after it suffered a crushing defeat in Sunday's national election, winning just 18.7 percent of votes.

"It's obvious that I must leave the helm of the Democratic Party," Renzi said at a press conference in Rome.

"It seems we have recognised a clear defeat that obliges us to turn over a new page within the Democratic Party."

A party congress would be held to select a new leader after the new parliament and government has been sworn in, Renzi said.

Meanwhile he ruled out an alliance with "extremists", referring to the anti-immigrant Northern League and the populist Five Star Movement, who came out on top in Sunday's polls.

Though no party will be able to rule alone, the Northern League and the Five Star Movement each claimed on Monday they had the right to govern Italy after winning 17.4 percent and 32.6 percent of votes respectively.

The centre-right alliance, which includes the Northern League, got 37 percent of Sunday's vote - far ahead of the centre-left alliance's 24 percent, but fell short of winning a ruling majority.

Ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party won a mere 14 percent of votes, less than the Northern League which more than quadrupled its vote since 2013.</s>Former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi is poised to stand down as leader of his party today (5 March) after a dismal showing in the country's elections.

The latest results, following Sunday's vote, show Renzi's governing centre-left Democratic Party on just 18.9% of the vote, less than a fifth of the national poll.

This leaves Italy facing a hung parliament after the country favoured more extreme, or more unorthodox, parties.

The Eurosceptic, anti-establishment Five Star Movement is set to become Italy's largest single party with 32.3% of the vote. It was founded in 2009 by comedian Beppe Grillo, who denounced cronyism in Italian politics.

But its power will be checked by the right-wing coalition, which also did well in the polls. The anti-immigration League received 17.6% of the vote, while the centre-right Forza Italia won 14% of the poll. Forza Italia is led by billionaire media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, who is also a former prime minister.

Forming a government between these disparate groups is likely to take weeks of negotiation.

But the immediate casualty of Italy's election looks set to be Renzi, according to news agency ANSA, amid the fallout of his second election defeat in just 15 months.

The former Florence mayor is set to deliver a speech late this afternoon (5 March) where his resignation is expected.

Democratic Party farm minister Maurizio Martina said the vote was "a clear and marked defeat".

Renzi, 43, is the leader of his party, but the Democratic Party prime minister is Paolo Gentiloni who was handed the role after Renzi resigned from the top job in December 2016, days after losing a referendum to introduce liberalising constitutional reforms.

This is a far cry from February 2014 when Renzi was voted in as Italy's youngest prime minister, aged just 39.

The youthful leader, who often wore jeans and spoke with his shirtsleeves rolled up, promised to sweep away red-tape and vested interests that have held back the Italian economy for decades.

But Italian voters abandoned him because they felt he made little progress with their concerns over institutional corruption, economic hardship and immigration.

When Renzi pushed ahead with his referendum over constitutional reform two years ago, his critics were successfully able to portray this as a naked attempt by him to centralise power.

The inability to get to grips with key voter worries over the last two years are likely to be behind the downfall of Renzi and his party today.

A buoyed League leader Matteo Salvini said that the voters had "punished the arrogance of Renzi and his people".</s>Matteo Renzi, former Italian prime minister and leader of the Democratic Party | Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images Renzi resigns as PD leader after Italian election blow ‘It’s obvious that I must leave the helm of the Democratic Party,’ said former PM.

Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi resigned as leader of the Democratic Party (PD) on Monday following the party's defeat in Sunday's election.

"It's obvious that I must leave the helm of the Democratic Party," said Renzi, 43, who led the country from 2014 to 2016.

He added that the center-left group must now "turn a new page" after suffering a "clear defeat."

“We will be in the opposition; the PD will never act as a front for government made up of anti-systemic forces,” Renzi told reporters. He added that three things distinguish the PD from the anti-establishment 5Star Movement and far-right League: "Their anti-Europeanism, their anti-politics and the verbal hatred they have directed" at Democratic Party members.”

According to preliminary results, the PD looked set to come third with about 19 percent of the vote — less than half their peak at the European elections in 2014 — while the 5Star Movement emerged as the single largest party with more than 32 percent.

Renzi's popularity, and support for his party, suffered the consequences of Italy's slow economic recovery and persistently high unemployment. Once nicknamed il rottamatore (the bulldozer) for his reformist zeal, the former mayor of Florence bet his political career on a referendum to change the constitution in 2016 — and lost.

After Sunday's inconclusive vote, no single party or coalition looks likely to be able to collect enough votes to govern alone, which could result in a hung parliament.</s>Italy's former prime minister Matteo Renzi has resigned as leader of the country's Democratic Party.

It's after they suffered defeat in the country's general election yesterday.

The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement saw its support soar to become Italy's largest single party, with approximately 31 percent of the vote.

Earlier in the day Mr Renzi says his centre-left party will not join any government led by the anti-immigrant League party or the populist 5-Star Movement, the two victorious forces in Italy's election.

Mr Renzi said both those parties represent an anti-Europeanism that he would not support and said they had had used "verbal hatred" on his Democratic Party politicians.

He said Matteo Salvini of the League and Luigi Di Maio of the 5-Stars had called his party members mafiosi, labelled them corrupt and said they had blood on their hands.

Mr Renzi says "if this is who we are, govern without us. Know that our place in this legislation is in the opposition."

Mr Renzi acknowledged that his party suffered a "total defeat" in Sunday's general election and said he would resign as party leader after a new government has been sworn in.</s>ROME (Reuters) - Matteo Renzi, the head of Italy’s Democratic Party, resigned on Monday following a humiliating defeat in national elections.

Renzi, 43, also said he believed the party should not make any post-election pacts with “extremist parties” and will be in opposition to the next government.</s>Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will resign as secretary-general of the Democratic Party after the party secured less than 20 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election, Italian newswire ANSA reported Monday.

Populist, anti-establishment parties were the big winners of Sunday’s Italian election, winning a combined total of more than 50 percent of the vote. Almost half of the Democratic Party’s ministers lost their seats, as support for the party dropped to unprecedented levels.</s>Italy’s ex-premier Matteo Renzi says his centre-left party will not join any government led by the anti-immigrant League party or the populist 5-Star Movement, the two victorious forces in Italy’s election.

Mr Renzi said both those parties represent an anti-Europeanism that he would not support and said they had had used “verbal hatred” on his Democratic Party politicians.

He said Matteo Salvini of the League and Luigi Di Maio of the 5-Stars had called his party members mafiosi, labelled them corrupt and said they had blood on their hands.

Mr Renzi says “if this is who we are, govern without us. Know that our place in this legislation is in the opposition.”

Mr Renzi acknowledged that his party suffered a “total defeat” in Sunday’s general election and said he would resign as party leader after a new government has been sworn in.</s>The leader of Italy's Democratic Party, Matteo Renzi, has decided to step down after Sunday's general election rout, Ansa news agency reported. Renzi's spokesman, however, said he can't confirm it.A center-left bloc led by the ex-prime minister's party scored some 23 percent, according to the election results.Renzi's spokesman told Reuters that he had heard nothing about any decision to step down."This is a very clear defeat for us," Michele Martina, a top figure in Renzi's party, told reporters earlier on Monday. "We are expecting a result below our expectations... This is very clearly a negative result for us," he said.Andrea Marcucci, one of the party's lawmakers, admitted that voters "have spoken very clearly and irrefutably."he wrote in a Facebook post Renzi's rival in Sunday's election, Matteo Salvini, leader of the Euroskeptic Lega Nord party, has said that his bloc with Berlusconi "won" the elections and can govern.In the meantime, Professor Marco Bassani told RT that the shake-up of the Italian political scene is rooted in the migration problem, adding that Renzi's Democrats are "pretty much gone."</s>The leader of Italy's Democratic Party, Matteo Renzi, has decided to step down after Sunday’s general election rout, Ansa news agency reported. Renzi’s spokesman, however, said he can’t confirm it.

A center-left bloc led by the ex-prime minister’s party scored some 23 percent, according to projections. It now trails the center-right bloc of Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia and the Euroskeptic Lega Nord as well as the anti-establishment Five Star Movement.

Renzi’s spokesman told Reuters that he had heard nothing about any decision to step down.

“This is a very clear defeat for us,” Michele Martina, a top figure in Renzi’s party, told reporters earlier on Monday. “We are expecting a result below our expectations... This is very clearly a negative result for us,” he said.

Andrea Marcucci, one of the party's lawmakers, admitted that voters “have spoken very clearly and irrefutably.”

“The populists have won and the Democratic Party has lost," he wrote in a Facebook post.

Renzi’s rival in Sunday’s election, Matteo Salvini, leader of the Euroskeptic Lega Nord party, has said that his bloc with Berlusconi “won” the elections and can govern.

In the meantime, Professor Marco Bassani told RT that the shake-up of the Italian political scene is rooted in the migration problem, adding that Renzi’s Democrats are “pretty much gone.”

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Former Prime Minister and candidate to the elections, Matteo Renzi, resigns as Secretary of the Democratic Party.