Italy PM Letta to seek new confidence vote on December 11

Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta looks up as he waits for the arrival of his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu at Villa Madama in Rome December 2, 2013. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta will seek a confidence vote in parliament on December 11 to confirm his new majority after Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party pulled out of the ruling coalition, the government said.

Letta, who held consultations with President Giorgio Napolitano on Monday, said last week he would seek the confidence vote after his centre-left Democratic Party (PD) elects a new leader this coming Sunday and would set out priorities for his government in the coming year.