Italy’s Center Parties Join Forces to Challenge Right, Democrats
(Bloomberg) -- Italy’s centrist parties agreed to form a new alliance ahead of general elections in September to challenge both the right-wing coalition led by Giorgia Meloni and the Democrats.
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Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s party Italy Alive will join forces with Carlo Calenda’s Azione, after the latter left an alliance with the Democrats over the weekend. Both parties pledged to continue the international posture and reform agenda of Mario Draghi’s government.
The aim of the alliance is “to save Italy from sovereigntists and populists,” Renzi said on a Facebook post. He called the new alliance a “third pillar” in the Italian political landscape.
Still, the centrist bloc is not expected to gain much traction and could have trouble changing the course of the elections, according to the latest polls.
The right-wing alliance made up of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, Matteo Salvini’s League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia has 48.2% support, according to recent polls. That means the bloc could win more than 60% of the seats in both houses of parliament, according estimates by the think-tank Istutito Cattaneo.
The Italy Alive-Azione tie-up is expected to gain about 6% support, resulting in about 12 seats in the lower house and around seven in the Senate.
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