Italy's populist premier Giuseppe Conte on Monday held talks with economy minister Giovanni Tria ahead of a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Luxembourg, Adnkronos learned from government sources.
Tria could quit after he was overruled on the government's deficit target - set at 2.4 percent of output for the next three years - which he had wanted to keep to 1.6 percent of GDP, according to a report at the weekend in Rome-based daily Il Messaggero.
Tria, an unaffiliated economist, was "embittered" by the rancorous budget discussions in the cabinet and may resign after the package is approved later this year, newspaper Il Messaggero reported without stating where it obtained the information.
Grassroots Five-Star Movment leader, deputy premier and industry and welfare minister Luigi Di Maio has denied that Tria is on his way out.
“Giovanni must stay on as finance minister," Di Maio said in a Tg24 television interview broadcast Saturday.
“We still support Giovanni Tria,” Di Maio added, while staunchly defending the government’s economic programme, which includes 15 billion euros of planned investments.
The government's three-year spending plans rattled markets on Friday - the day after the government unveiled its deficit targets - prompting a sell-off of bonds and a rout of banking stocks.
The closely-watched Italy/Germany 10-year bond yield spread was at its widest in three-weeks at 256 basis points and market analysts said it could reach 300 basis points in the next two weeks.
