Mattarella is tasked with creating a new government after the partnership between the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the far-right League disintegrated this month and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned.
Mattarella has given Italy’s major parties until Monday night to reach an agreement, but if no solid majority emerges he will call an early election for November 10 – less than two years after the last government was voted in.
Interior Minister and League leader Matteo Salvini sparked the political crisis by pulling the plug on the governing coalition earlier this month, leading to Conte’s resignation last Tuesday.
Having been shunned by the League, the M5S has indicated it is open to an alliance with the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), though the two parties have continually clashed over the years.
Talks between the opposing parties appear to be going well and PD leader Nicola Zingaretti on Saturday said that on finding shared policy goals, “we are open and available for all types of discussion”.
“We continue to work to open a new political season,” he added.
Mattarella, whose talks with the parties may extend into Wednesday, has said any new coalition must have an agreed platform that could pass parliament, after months of turmoil within the M5S-League government over several important policies.
Both the M5S and PD agree on the idea of slashing the number of lawmakers in parliament from 950 to around 600, as well as environmental protection and economic policies designed to help the weakest in society.
The name of the next prime minister seems to be the biggest hurdle at the moment, with the PD disapproving of the M5S’ proposal to keep Conte in the position.
Meanwhile, Salvini has attempted to backtrack on his earlier plan to force new elections by offering to reconcile with the M5S.
“I will do everything to stop a PD-M5S government,” he said.
The clock is ticking to resolve the political crisis, with Italy under pressure to approve a budget in the next few months.
If it fails it could face an automatic rise in value-added tax that would hit the less advantaged families the hardest and likely plunge the country’s already strained economy into recession.
