Italy's Five Star Movement (M5S) leader said that he had called for Prime Minister Mario Draghi to address the party's concerns.
His comments on Saturday came as the country's broad governing coalition teeters on the brink of collapse.
"We have invited Prime Minister Draghi to address our priorities. They express the political discomfort we had in the government majority," M5S leader Giuseppe Conte said in a video posted on Facebook.
Conte was referring to a list of demands from his populist party he had handed to Draghi about a week and a half ago. One of them is the introduction of a legal minimum wage.
Draghi has led a unity government since February 2021, but the cooperation took took a hit on Thursday when members of the populist M5S refused to vote on aid for firms and households impacted by the war in Ukraine.
The move was seen as a de facto vote of confidence. Draghi offered to resign in response, but was told to stay on by President Sergio Mattarella, leaving the question open as to what form the government will take and who will lead it going forward.
The parties are preparing for a parliamentary session on Wednesday when Draghi will reveal how and whether he plans to stay in office. If he doesn't find a new majority, fresh elections could be called.
Enrico Letta, the head of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), on Saturday called for the M5S to return to the fold.
"I appeal to the Five Star Movement to show up on Wednesday with the will for a new start," he said, arguing that Italians don't want a political crisis, but a government that solves problems.
Letta has been hoping to work with the M5S ahead of elections required by February 2023 to keep parties on the political right from coming to power.
But major right-wing coalition partners, the far-right League (Lega) and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's conservative Forza Italia indicated they may not be interested in salvaging the partnership.
"The League will decide based on what's best for Italy," tweeted Matteo Salvini, head of League.
Antonio Tajani of Forza Italia said his grouping sees the current problems as purely the fault of the M5S.
"We have very clear views. We can't work any more with the Five Stars," he said.
Mayors of several key cities came out publicly on Saturday to urge Draghi to stay on in office.
"We're asking Mario Draghi to stay the course and to explain in parliament the good reasons for a continuation of his leadership," read a letter signed by, among others, Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri and Milan Mayor Beppe Sala.
In all, 11 regional politicians, most of them social democrats, signed the appeal.
They argued that, in the wake of the pandemic and amid the Ukraine war, Italy's cities need to find a way to start again. "Now, more than ever, we need the stability, wisdom and consistency to carry on with this transformation of our cities."
