New centre-left Democratic Party (PD)
leader Elly Schlein on Thursday called on fellow opposition
leaders to join her in permanent discussions on key issues in
order to be "more effective" in their role as opposition.
"Let's lock ourselves in a room, even until late at night, in
order to find something to do together," Schlein told populist
Five Star Movement (M5S) leader and ex-premier Giuseppe Conte,
leader of the centrist Azione party Carlo Calenda and Italian
Left (SI) Secretary Nicola Fratoianni during Italy's leading
trade union confederation CGIL's congress in Rimini.
"Every progressive force" must "put up a united front" against
"conservative right-wing forces" said Conte in response to the
idea of a permanent discussion table, dubbed by journalist Lucia
Annunziata as the 'Anti-Papeete coordination' in reference to
rightwing League leader Matteo Salvini's sudden break with a
former Conte government in 2019, when he said he was seeking
"full powers" at a popular beach club at Milano Marittima on the
Romagna Riviera.
"In all honesty we are already a bit late," said Fratoianni,
hailing the initiative, while Calenda said he and Conte were
already in discussions on the minimum wage.
"There are points we can work on together, and we have a duty to
do so," the Azione party leader said.
Calenda, also leader of the joint 'third pole' with the centrist
Italia Viva (IV) party of former PD leader and ex-premier Matteo
Renzi, had previously ruled out working with Schlein and Conte
saying they were too leftwing.
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