Anti-establishment 5-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio had been expected to remain foreign minister. — Reuters pic

ROME, Jan 22 — The head of Italy’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), which co-governs the country, was set to step down as party leader today, Italian media reports said.

Luigi Di Maio was expected to remain foreign minister in the coalition government, but told relatives "this is the time to take a step back, I am exhausted,” newspapers said.

M5S is the largest party in Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government, and the move could further weaken an already fragile alliance with the centre-left Democratic Party (PD).

It comes days ahead of a key regional poll pitting the M5S and PD against Matteo Salvini’s far-right opposition League.

Di Maio, 33, was expected to meet other Five Star ministers in the morning and announce his resignation at a party meeting in the afternoon, the newspapers said.

The League, which enjoys a significant lead in national polls, hopes defeating the M5S and PD on Sunday in Emilia Romagna—a historic heartland of the left—will spark a crisis and bring down the government.

The M5S was likely to perform particularly badly in the vote, according to the last polls published before a media blackout.

Di Maio has been head of the M5S since September 2017, but has faced mounting internal dissent as the movement loses popularity and lawmakers abandon it. — AFP