Second round of government consultations kick off

(ANSA) - Rome, April 12 - President Sergio Mattarella starts a second round of formal government-formation consultations on Thursday after last month's inconclusive general election.
    The president will meet the political parties on Thursday and then have talks with institutional figures on Friday.
    The talks kick off with a meeting with parties representing autonomous regions (SVP-PATT, UV).
    Mattarella then meets representatives of the mixed group followed by the leftwing Free and Equal (LeU) group.
    Later on Thursday Mattarella meets members of the centre-left Democratic Party and then has a meeting with the three parties of the centre-right coalition, the League, Forza Italia (FI) and Brothers of Italy (FdI).
    The first day will finish with a meeting with representatives of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S).
    On Friday the president will meet his predecessor as head of State, Giorgio Napolitano, and then have talks with Lower House Speaker Roberto Fico before wrapping up the consultations with Senate Speaker Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati.