ROME—Italy edged closer to fresh national elections, as the Italian president launched a last-ditch call for parties to support a short-term government in an attempt to break a two-month political deadlock.
President Sergio Mattarella concluded the fifth unsuccessful round of formal talks among parties Monday, his latest effort to cajole the groups into bridging their differences and forming a new government. The talks come more than two months after national elections produced a hung parliament.
After the failed talks, Mr. Mattarella urged party leaders to support a broad-based government that would have cross-party support—a proposition the two large antiestablishment parties have already rejected. Otherwise, the president warned, Italians could go back to the polls as soon as this summer.
Italy has been stuck in a political impasse since the March 4 elections produced a parliament divided roughly into three blocs. A center-right coalition, led by the anti-immigration League and including Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, emerged as the largest grouping with around 37% of the popular vote. The 5 Star Movement followed with around 32%, making it the single party with the largest share. The center-left Democratic Party trailed both.
Mr. Mattarella has tried various combinations among the parties in an effort to find a coalition that could secure a parliamentary majority. He has failed to do so, leaving an ever-shrinking chance that Italy will avoid a snap vote.
On Monday, the president urged the parties to get behind a government composed of neutral figures that could lead the country until the end of the year, after which early elections would be held.
That approach could enable the passage of a budget for next year and possibly the rewriting of the electoral law to favor the formation of more durable governments in the future. But the hard-right League and the antiestablishment 5 Star Movement have both signaled they wouldn’t support such a government.
Without an agreement, elections would be held this year, Mr. Mattarella said. Leaders of the League and 5 Star have suggested fresh elections could be held as soon as July 8.
“It’s up to parties to decide…between these two alternative solutions,” he said Monday evening, referring to new elections or a placeholder government.
The prospect of fresh elections in the eurozone’s third-largest economy underscores how deeply divided the Italian electorate remains. Anger at establishment parties, a protracted economic downturn and anti-immigration sentiment fueled the rise of upstart parties.
In the weeks since the March 4 elections, both the League and 5 Star have seen their popularity rise in polls as legacy parties have slid further.
Write to Giovanni Legorano at giovanni.legorano@wsj.com