Italy’s left calls for progressive coalition after electoral success

Following Italy’s Democratic Party sweeping victory in regional elections,  leader Elly Schlein called for a progressive coalition to combat the right, while Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, accused the left of using “civil war tones”.

“From Florence to Bari, from Campobasso to Perugia, from Potenza to Cagliari. It is irrevocable: the cities have rejected the governing right and sent a clear message to Giorgia Meloni,” said Schlein in a press conference on Tuesday.

The left leader described the result as “extraordinary,” stating, “United we win. The message is: we are coming”.

These election results confirm that the two main opposition parties, the Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement, have the potential to win when they unite.

This sentiment was echoed by Five Star Movement leader and former prime minister Giuseppe Conte.

“Citizens reward the projects of understanding between the opposition forces… This is a comforting fact that encourages us to continue, while respecting our diversity and different identities, to work towards building an alternative to Meloni’s government”.

In a video posted on social media, Meloni said, “The opposition uses irresponsible civil war tones because they lack substantive arguments. I believe the violent tones the left uses on autonomy and other reforms are nothing but a desperate defence of the status quo”, Meloni stated.

A few hours later, Schlein responded, “Tell me if these are civil war tones: I don’t know who Giorgia Meloni is referring to. We are fighting on the merits of their reforms. There isn’t a single one to which we haven’t proposed an alternative alongside our criticism”.

(Alessia Peretti | Euractiv.it)

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