Tunisian President Kais Saied said on Monday he would dissolve Parliament and call for an early election if the new government failed to win a confidence vote in what he called the "worst political crisis since independence" in 1956.
Designated Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh proposed a Cabinet on Saturday and then said negotiations would continue after the moderate Ennahda, the biggest party in Parliament, rejected it.
Mr Fakhfakh may struggle for a strong parliamentary majority needed for any significant political programme to tackle a severe economic crisis.
“I say it very clearly: if the government fails to win the confidence of Parliament, the word will return to the people,” Mr Saied said.
Unemployment has been high and growth low since the 2011 revolution, while the government has sunk further into debt with big budget deficits that foreign lenders demand it bring under control.
Ennahda’s nominee for prime minister, Habib Jemli, proposed a coalition government that was rejected by Parliament in a vote last month.
