Anticipation mounts for Conte's address amid talk of crisis

(ANSA) - Rome, June 3 - Anticipation is mounting for the address Premier Giuseppe Conte will make to the nation later on Monday amid speculation that his coalition government is on the verge of a crisis.
    "At 18:15 I will hold a press conference at Palazzo Chigi (the premier's office)," Conte said via Twitter, inviting people to follow the event live on his Facebook page. "I have some important things to say to you". Tension is high between the two parties supporting his government, the League and the 5-Star Movement.
    Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini is pushing hard for the government to move ahead with a pledge to introduce a 'flat tax' after his League party triumphed at last month's European elections. This could generate more friction between the government and the European Commission, which last week sent Rome a letter asking for clarification on its approach to bringing down the public debt. Fellow Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio, meanwhile, is trying to shore up his M5S after it did badly in the European elections.
    Agriculture Minister Gian Marco Centinaio was not optimistic about the government's prospects on Monday.
    "I hope that Premier Conte performs a miracle," said Centinaio, a League member. "I think that the (European) election campaign is over and the tone should be lowered.
    "The premier and, above all, the two signatories of the contract of government, should start talking about politics again and concrete things. "There is good will (on the League's side), but if the necessary conditions (to continue) are absent, if there is no agreement, I can't see any alternative to (early) elections".