Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella wants political parties to reach a deal to form a new coalition government in the next few days if they want to avoid snap elections, a source close to him said on Thursday.

The president has started consultations to find a new government after the ruling coalition collapsed and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned this week.

On Thursday, Mattarella will meet delegations from the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which could forge a new ruling coalition.

The president wants clear signals of a possible deal on Thursday and to see major developments by early next week, the source said.

Some investors fear that if interior Minister Matteo Salvini uses elections to form a League-led government as prime minister, he will ramp up spending and set the heavily indebted nation on a collision course with the European Union.