The Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano has asked Romano Prodi to stay on as Prime Minister and face a confidence vote to test his majority in parliament.
Mr Prodi resigned on Wednesday after losing a vote on foreign policy in the upper house of parliament over plans to keep Italian troops in Afghanistan, plunging the country into political uncertainty.
He must now win a vote in both chambers of parliament to show that he has enough support to govern. The votes are likely to be held next week.
Mr Prodi thanked Napolitano for his support and said: 'I will go to parliament as soon as possible, with the support of a cohesive coalition determined to help the country at this difficult stage and speed up the economic recovery under way'.
President Giorgio Napolitano had consulted all political leaders on how to resolve the crisis since Prodi's resignation.
Prodi's supporters asked that he be given a second chance to show he can command a majority in parliament, while former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi called for fresh elections.
But the Italian president today said most parties had agreed that the electoral law needed to be modified before new polls can be held and that there was no consensus on forming a broad-based government with the support of the opposition.
