Italy's 5-Star Movement will not take part in a parliamentary confidence vote on Thursday, party leader Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday in a move that looked likely to trigger the collapse of Prime Minister Mario Draghi's government.
Other coalition parties have warned that they will quit the government if 5-Star refuses to take part in the vote in the Senate, while Draghi himself has said he would not head an administration without Conte's party on board.
Despite the threat of unleashing political chaos, Conte told reporters his party could not support the confidence motion and said the government should be doing more to tackle growing social problems in the euro zone's third largest economy.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante and Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Crispian Balmer, editing by Gavin Jones)
