Outgoing 5-Star Movement leader set to........>

ITALY: Outgoing 5-Star Movement leader set to deliver official resignation

address in the coming minutes. 

- Di Maio stepping down after steady stream of defections by lawmakers from M5S

in recent days & weeks, combined with continued unease with movement's coalition

with establishment Democratic Party.

- Will remain in Cabinet as Foreign Minister.

- Deputy Interior Minister, Senator Vito Crimi, is set to take over as interim

leader until a permanent replacement is selected. 

- Di Maio's replacement will have major impact on Italian political stability. 

- A radical replacement, such as Deputy Alessandro Di Battista, could see the

national coalition split, given Di Battista's well-known aversion to working

with the PD. 

- Alternatively, a candidate seen as close to Di Maio or other figures in the

gov't such as Minister of Economic Development Senator Stefano Patuanelli or

Minister of Justice Alfonso Bonafede could point towards a continuation of the

current administration.