ROME (dpa-AFX) – Ex-Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and former Minister Carlo Calenda have formed a new center alliance for the parliamentary elections in Italy. The two parties Italia Viva (Renzi) and Azione (Calenda) want to win over moderate voters on September 25 and thus possibly play a role as kingmaker. In recent polls, the centre-right bloc led by the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia around party leader Giorgia Meloni is clearly in the lead. After the polls, the centre-left around the Social Democrats would not have a majority, even with the center group.
The new alliance is hoping for an influx of voters, for example from Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party; the two ministers Mariastella Gelmini and Mara Carfagna have already left the ex-Prime Minister’s party and are set to become two important faces in the moderates’ election campaign. The campaign is led by Calenda. His goal is to persuade the still incumbent, non-party Prime Minister Mario Draghi to continue after the election./msw/DP/he
