Article Author:
Reuters
Federico Maccioni and Angelo Amante
ROME — The leader of Italy's centrist party Azione said Sunday he was leaving the center-left electoral alliance with the Democratic Party (PD ) last week hit the Coalition odds ahead of the Sept. 25 vote.
The Green Left Coalition and centrist party Inpegno Civico had just agreed to join the PD-led bloc the day before.
Opinion polls show the Conservative League poised to win next month's elections, with the far-right Italian Brotherhood set to become the largest single political party. Italian electoral law favors political parties that form broad alliances.
Azione leader Carlo Calenda said he had told PD leaders that his party was leaving the deal, and voted against former Prime Minister Mario Draghi's government. He cited the existence of the party he cast as one reason.
The September vote was called following the collapse of Draghi's unity government last month. That was after three major partners rejected a vote of confidence he called to end the division. Draghi resigned, but remained on as acting prime minister.
"This was the most difficult decision of my life," Callenda told state-run TV channel Rai Tre.
PD his leader Enrico Letta tweeted: From everything he said, it appears as if Calenda's only possible ally is Calenda (himself). agreed to join forces with his PD, the largest center-left party, to do so. He has adhered to Draghi's foreign policy of supporting Ukraine and promised to achieve the goals necessary to access billions of euros in funding from the European Union. Political parties and their allies +Europa have around 5-7% support in the survey. Earlier on Sunday, +Europa expressed strong approval of the deal with PD, but it remained unclear what the small group would do after Calenda's move.
(Reporting by Federico Maccioni and Angelo Amante, Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Mark Heinrich)