ROME: The Italian Green leftist federation agreed on Saturday August 6 to join an electoral alliance led by the Democratic Party PD in a move seen as strengthening the centre-left ahead of an election next month.
The polls show that a conservative alliance is on course for victory, with the far-right Brothers of Italy set to be the largest single party. Italy's election law favors parties that form broad alliances.
PD Secretary Enrico Letta told a press conference that he was happy to be able to present a deal that is necessary because the electoral law punishes isolation.
The right did not lose a minute before striking an alliance unlike them. We wanted to discuss matters first. The PD, the largest party on the centre-left with around 24 per cent of the votes, had already agreed to team up with the centrist Azione party.
Later on Saturday letta also announced a deal with Impegno Civico, a small centrist party that was only founded by Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, who left the populist 5 Star Movement last month.
Azione and its existing Europa ally poll only ranks around 5 -- 7 per cent in surveys, while the Green Left list is around 4 per cent.
The conservative alliance led by Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy includes the rightist League and the moderate Forza Italia Party of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. It is currently polling at around 45 per cent.
The leftist federation initially condemned the PD pact with Azione, saying it disregarded the social and environmental issues at the heart of the green platform.
Sinistra Italiana, which forms the federation along with the small Europa Verde party, also criticised the two parties for praising the government of the outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
Letta wanted to bridge differences by saying environmental and social sustainability issues would be at the heart of the campaign.
He ruled out further widening the alliance, saying it had already been hard to build it in its current shape. A PD source said Letta was ruling out widening the alliance to include the 5 Star Movement.
Letta said that the sense of responsibility will prevail over everything else for the next 50 days.
We have the responsibility of preventing Italy from ending up with the first right-right government in its history.