Italy's League leader asks president for mandate to form government

FILE PHOTO: League party leader Matteo Salvini speaks to the media during the second day of consultations with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy, April 5, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) - The leader of Italy's far-right League, Matteo Salvini, said on Monday he had asked the president to give him a mandate to try to form a government to end two months of deadlock following an inconclusive election.

"We trust that the president will give us the chance to find a majority in parliament," Salvini told reporters after meeting President Sergio Mattarella at the head of a centre-right alliance of parties.

The March 4 ballot produced a hung parliament, with the centre-right bloc taking the most seats, and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement emerging as the biggest single party. It was far from clear if Salvini could muster enough votes in parliament to form a government.

(Reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by Crispian Balmer)