Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, has said she in not in favour of Italy's centre-right parties merging to form a single group.
Ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI) has proposed forming a single centre-right party.
But League leader Matteo Salvini has also poured cold water on the idea, saying he prefers to press ahead with a plan to make ties with FI closer by forming a federation.
"There are more risks than benefits to the single party," Meloni told Thursday's Corriere della Sera.
"I have always thought that the specific nature of each party is a strength for the centre right.
"We represent over 50% of (Italian) voters.
"Making everything uniform would cause us to lose more than we could gain".
FdI is the only major party not supporting Premier Mario Draghi's government of national unity.
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