Euroskeptic League leader Matteo Salvini, Forza Italia’s Silvio Berlusconi and Brothers of Italy’s Giorgia Meloni will not give up on their request to have a center-right premier, they said in a note after a meeting in Arcore, near Milan, on Sunday.
According to Bloomberg, Mattarella is expected to hold a second round of talks with party leaders next weekend in an effort to break a monthlong political gridlock, after both Salvini and Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio failed to get a parliamentary majority in the March 4 election. Friction between the two sides centers on Di Maio’s insistence on the premiership and his opposition to a role for Forza Italia.
Meanwhile, Di Maio is seeking dialogue with other parties to allow him to reach a parliamentary majority before presidential talks resume, extending a hand both to the ruling Democratic Party and to the League.
On Saturday, the leader invited the Democratic Party, which he previously strongly criticized, to “bury the hatchet” and start a conversation on possible government options. His position, published in an interview in newspaper La Repubblica, left Democratic leaders divided.
While Maurizio Martina -- the party’s acting secretary following the departure of Matteo Renzi -- said the PD’s decision not to take part in a government hasn’t changed after Di Maio’s appeal, others, including minister Dario Franceschini, suggested a possible positive response to Five Star’s invitation.