Italy's far-right League party and its possible coalition partner the populist Five-Star Movement are "a significant distance apart" on the issue of migration, League leader Matteo Salvini said on Monday.
"The positions of the League and Five-Star are a significant distance apart on immigration," Salvini told reporters after meeting Italy's president Sergio Mattarella.
"In full respect for human rights, international treaties and solidarity, I say as a father, that I cannot contemplate another summer and autumn of migrant landings that boost the illegal immigrant traffickers' balance-sheets," Salvini said.
"The League must have a free hand to safeguard citizens and to smash this business," he stated. Immigration is a sensitive issue in Italy where over 600,000 boat migrants have arrived from Africa since 2014.
A League-Five-Star government needs to lift European Union fiscal restrictions on policy making besides more EU solidarity on migration, Salvini said.
"I want children not to have roofs falling on their heads," referring to a roof collapse at a school Monday.
"I want firms to pay fewer taxes and today I have external limits that don't allow me to. Either we rediscuss the (EU) restrictions or we will go no nowhere."
A possible new administration between the League and Five-Star will "start if it can do things", he said. If the two sides found they were "unable to do what Italians voted for" then "we would stop" he said.
"As I have been saying since 4 March, we'll do our utmost to give this country a serious government," Salvini vowed.
"We hope to see you soon - either because we'll be getting down to work or because we're saying goodbye."
"No one should be outraged because in all sincerity we have asked for a few more hours," he said.
Five-Star leader Luigi Di Maio said earlier on Monday he had asked Mattarella for "a few more days" of talks on coalition government with the League.
Mattarella last week granted the two sides four days of last-ditch talks from Thursday to Sunday.
Italy has been in political limbo since the inconclusive 4 March national election in which populist parties made strong gains.
Five-Star is the biggest political party and the centre-right is the largest bloc in the hung parliament.
If the Five-Star-League tie-up falls through, Mattarella will appoint a caretaker government to oversee a re-vote, probably in the next few months.
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