Gentiloni tapped as Italy's new prime minister

Rome : Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni was set Sunday to become Italy's new prime minister following reformist leader Matteo Renzi's resignation in the wake of a crushing referendum defeat.

President Sergio Mattarella, who had vowed Saturday that he would move quickly to fill the void, summoned Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) ally to the presidential palace.

The move came after opposition parties rebuffed overtures about a possible national unity government and Mattarella rejected demands for an immediate election.

Renzi, who had been in power for two years and ten months, resigned last week after voters overwhelmingly rejected a package of constitutional reforms on which he had staked his future.

Gentiloni was to meet with Mattarella at 12:30 (1130 GMT) on Sunday, the presidency said in a one-line statement.

Opposition parties were anticipating that the required vote of confidence in a new administration headed by Gentiloni would take place on Wednesday.

The populist Five Star Movement, which has led calls for immediate elections, said it would boycott the vote because the new government would have no legitimacy.

Mattarella said Saturday the country urgently needed a "fully functioning government" to handle a string of pressing problems.