Italy sets general elections for March 2018
he Council of Ministers set the date hours after President Sergio Mattarella announced the dissolution of the current parliament.
The sequence leading to the calling of new elections began earlier Thursday with a press conference where the prime minister offered a positive appraisal of the five "fruitful" years of government by his Democratic Party.
Gentiloni became premier in December 2016 following the resignation of fellow Democrat Matteo Renzi, who stepped down in response to the negative result of a referendum on a set of constitutional changes he proposed.
The Democratic Party administration revived the Italian economy in the wake of "the worst crisis" since World War II, Gentiloni said.
The latest polls indicate that Italy's center-right parties will together get more votes than either the Democratic Party or the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, though the latter is expected to command the most support of any individual party.