Italian party leaders 'close' to agreement on alliance

Outgoing prime minister joins heads of PD and M5S in effort to avoid snap election

Talks between the leaders of Italy's Democratic party (PD) and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) went on late into the night on Monday as they sought to thrash out an agreement on a potential alliance that could avert a snap election.

Giuseppe Conte, the outgoing prime minister, joined the meeting between the PD leader, Nicola Zingaretti, and his M5S counterpart, Luigi Di Maio, in a sign that Zingaretti has succumbed to M5S's demands to reinstate Conte.