«We need to accelerate on the single party. The Democratic Party? We can fight together»- Corriere.it

Mara Carfagna, president of Azione, Elly Schlein’s victory could lead to a polarization of the sides. But what do you think of the new secretary?

«I think his victory helps to clarify the political picture: now there is a right, a left and a centre, ours, which will be strengthened with the birth of a unitary party. As a woman I am happy with every affirmation of female leadership: the gaze of women can change the priorities of politics for the better and also the character of Italian public discourse, sometimes bordering on bullying”.

Schlein’s first act was his participation in the demonstration in Florence, with Conte: a problem or a clarification of the picture?

“A clarification. But also the start of a competition on the left».

You too have had common battles with the Pd and the M5S. Will it still be possible?

«If the vision on the tactics of the alliances prevails, I think so and I hope that beyond the battles “against” there will be harmony in the battles “for”. For the refinancing of health care and public schools. For the minimum wage. For new rules that build legal immigration flows and respond to business demand. Of course, on the balance sheet, on the no to regasification terminals or waste-to-energy plants, on the ambiguity on support for Ukraine or on the relaunch of the risk of fascism it is difficult to find a point of agreement».

But is there still room for a third force like yours? And just merge the two components?
We are awaiting Italia Viva’s assessments of the “time schedule” proposed by Action. The protagonism of the right and the left requires speed, as well as intelligence, otherwise our voice will sound weak”.

Are you aiming to attract the deluded from left and right?

“Doors open to all, but the project is aimed primarily at voters, at those who ask politics for solutions and not slogans or propaganda”.

What do you think of government policy? There are those who divide Meloni’s work from that of his ministers.

“The right got votes proposing a narrative that it now has to overcome in the name of realpolitik. Meloni has it very clear, someone else still doesn’t. And then there are those who act with cynicism, hoping to be able to recover consensus by continuing to make a “fierce face” like in the old days…».

After the Europeans, it will be necessary to build an alternative and take sides. Which way?

«I entered Action with the conviction that Italy needed a Third Pole equidistant between right and left and capable of building an alternative to the toxic propaganda of opposing extremisms. We have five years ahead of us to build our project nationwide. On the territories, we will distinguish case by case, name by name, program by program ».

But sooner or later you will have to choose a side.

«I think it would be really stupid to work hard to build a third pole and then offer it as a right or left spare wheel. In two months of the electoral campaign we have gone from zero to 8 per cent, our goal must be to double, triple that figure by focusing on a reformist and pragmatic proposal, made up of solutions for Italy and not of slogans. Alliances, if and when they are necessary, will have to be discussed from positions of strength».

Is it time also for the Third Pole to have a female leader? Would she feel ready?

«I have always aimed at results, not at the role. And I think I have produced results, from the law on stalking to the Lep for nursery schools, from the enormous Pnrr resources for the South to the rules against forced marriages, even without party leadership roles, indeed sometimes in conflict with the party I was in” .

To be honest, have you ever regretted leaving FI?

«No, I look at today’s FI with bitterness and I think that it no longer has anything of what made millions of Italians dream up until a few years ago».