Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi resigns after key allies boycott confidence vote

July 21 (UPI) -- Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi officially resigned Thursday after three key parties in his coalition government refused to take part in a confidence vote in parliament that could have kept him in office.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella accepted Draghi's resignation, which was seen by many world leaders as a huge blow to Italy's stability during a time of widespread crises in the region.

It seems Draghi likely knew his days were numbered. Just last week, he informed the cabinet that he planned to resign after losing the support of the coalition -- but Mattarella rejected that resignation and asked for an "assessment of the situation" from Draghi to explain his reasoning.

Thursday's shakeup could lead to an emergency election as soon as September for Draghi's replacement.

Despite strong popular support, Draghi failed to achieve his vision of unity to "rebuild a pact of trust" within his administration while tackling the country's social, economic, energy and cost-of-living woes.

Last week, members of the populist Five Star Movement -- the largest party in the country's coalition government -- boycotted another vote to help the nation address rising inflation and energy costs, paving the way to Draghi's ouster.

The party felt Draghi's proposed economic measures had strayed from his initial policy priorities, and party members were said to be further discontented about a provision in a bill to build a trash incinerator in Rome.

The other two parties in the coalition include Matteo Salvini's far-right League and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Itali, which both have called for a new government led by Draghi, but one that would give the boot to the Five Star Movement.