Italian caretake Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte gestures as he replies to questions ahead of a confidence vote at the Senate on January 19, 2021 at Palazzo Madama in Rome. (YARA NARDI / POOL / AFP)

ROME  - Caretaker prime minister Giuseppe Conte made an impassioned appeal on Tuesday for opposition or unaligned lawmakers in the upper house Senate to give him the backing to form a new government of “national rescue.”

Hours earlier Conte handed his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella, hoping to get a fresh mandate to put together a new coalition and rebuild his parliamentary majority which collapsed last week when a junior party pulled out

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“It is time for the voices to emerge in parliament of those who care in their hearts about the future of the republic,” Conte posted on Facebook, allowing him to form a government with “a broader and more secure majority.”

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Conte made similar appeals in parliament last week, but has so far had little apparent success in luring any wavering lawmakers to his government’s ranks.