The former prime minister of Italy has parted ways with the Democratic Party, saying it lacked vision for the future. His decision could destabilize a coalition government between PD and the populist 5-Star Movement.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Tarantino
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Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Tuesday announced his decision to leave the center-left Democratic Party (PD) to form his own centrist-leaning party in a move that could destabilize Rome's new government.
"After seven years of friendly fire I think we must take note that our values, our ideas, our dreams, cannot every day be the object of internal quarrels," Renzi said in a Facebook post.
PD leader Nicola Zingaretti described Renzi's decision as "an error," saying he didn't support it. "Now we must think about the future of Italians," Zingaretti said in a tweet. "A new agenda and the need to rebuild hope with good governance and a new PD."
As prime minister, Matteo Renzi (center) was seen as the de facto leader of the European Socialist block after PD won the most votes and seats of any single political party during the 2014 European Parliamentary electionsImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/G. vanden Wijngaert
In an interview with Rome-based newspaper La Repubblica, Renzi said around 30 PD lawmakers plan to join him in establishing a new political movement. He said PD lacked a vision for the future, something he wanted to rectify with his yet-to-be-named party.
Renzi noted that he would continue to support the government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, saying: "The victory we got in parliament against populism and (far-right leader Matteo) Salvini was important to save Italy, but it's not enough."
Democracy Italian style: The weirdest moments of Italy's election campaign
Ahead of parliamentary elections on Sunday, Italy is suffering from a bout of voter apathy. Considering what they've seen on the campaign trail might explain why.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/B. N. Clarke
He's back, and this time he's a vegetarian
Last Easter, in an attempt to soften his image as he eyed a return to politics, Berlusconi took part in an ad promoting vegetarianism that featured him snuggling lambs in soft lighting overlaid with easy listening music. Although Berlusconi is barred from seeking office for another year due to a fraud conviction, a bloc led by his Forza Italia party has been polling strongly.
Image: youtube/TG4 - Telegiornale
'No one will marry you'
Berlusconi is well known for offensive remarks and belittling women, so it's no surprise he did both in one go on the campaign trail. Earlier in February, he told a BBC journalist that her handshake was too manly; "Otherwise men will think, this one is going to beat me up, and no one will marry you."
Image: picture-alliance/ROPI/Napoli/Giacomino
Win (a date with) Salvini!
Matteo Salvini of the far-right Northern League came up with a humble publicity stunt – whoever likes his Facebook posts can win a chance to take a picture with "the captain", talk to him on the phone, or meet in private. He was lambasted on social media and by Italy's La Repubblica daily, which wrote: "The captain? Even Silvio Berlusconi in his golden age would envy this kind of self-regard."
Image: www.salvinipremier.it
Think about it!
If ex-PM Matteo Renzi was hoping to make a big splash with this tepid ad in which — surprise! — he shows up on a bike and tells a family to "think about" voting for him, then he was certainly successful. Just not perhaps in the way he wanted. The staggeringly lackluster TV spot was parodied countless times on social media.
Image: Youtube/Matteo Renzi
Just us kids
Luigi di Maio of Italy's anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) has repeatedly used his age of only 31 to try and connect with younger voters and is prolific on social media. One of his most cringeworthy attempts to relate to millennial voters came in a video he posted to Instagram in which he said M5S would make Italy "fly high," before "flying" himself in an entertainment complex.
Image: Instagram/luigi.di.maio
Pope: Fake news is like being aroused by feces
After the US election, the Pope warned about the spread of fake news in Italy and its undue influence. He called untrue, sensational stories "the greatest damage the media can do," in an interview with the Catholic weekly Tertio. "I think the media...must not fall into – no offense intended – the sickness of coprophilia," he said, using a more polite term for an abnormal interest in faeces.
Image: picture-alliance/Catholic Press Photo
Prime Minister Oliver?
Comedian and pundit John Oliver brought the tumultous Italian election to the attention of a wider audience in one of his famous TV segments, skewering Berlusconi. Oliver's solution to Italy's unwieldy democracy? Encouraging Italian lawmakers to appoint him: "Incredibly, I am far from your worst option," he joked while cuddling a lamb.
