Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has said that there is no longer a majority to support the government and fresh elections must be held.

Salvini, who leads Italy's ruling League party, said he told Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte that it is necessary to formalize the crisis in parliament.

Conte met with President Sergio Mattarella earlier amid mounting speculation that the ruling coalition could fall apart.

Salvini has clashed a number of times with fellow deputy prime minister Luigi di Maio, who heads the Five Star Movement.

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In a statement on Thursday, Salvini said that League's alliance with the Five Star Movement had ended and "we should quickly give the choice back to the voters."

The Five Star movement suffered a defeat in parliament this week after voting against a TAV high-speech rail link between Italy and France, which widened the rift between the coalition.

The coalition partners have also been quarrelling over other issues, including energy policy, justice system reform and Italy's relations with Europe.

Salvini, who had talked about early elections previously, embarked on what Italian media called a "beach tour" to woo more voters ahead of possible new elections earlier this month. The League leader visited beaches to chat to voters on the Lazio coastline south of Rome at the weekend.

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