Italy's Salvini says government is finished, wants elections

FILE PHOTO: Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini addresses a news conference at the end of a meeting with key economic players to discuss the forthcoming 2020 budget, at Viminale Palace, Rome, Italy, July 15 2019. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) - The leader of Italy's ruling League party, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, declared the governing coalition to be unworkable on Thursday after months of internal bickering and said the only way forward was to hold fresh elections.

The shock announcement follows a period of intense public feuding between the right-wing League and its coalition partner, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, and it throws the euro zone's third-largest economy into an uncertain political future.