Seven weeks before the parliamentary elections in Italy, the centre-left alliance has won over more parties. Over the weekend, the Greens, the Left (Sinistra Italiana) and also Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio's new party (Impegno Civico) joined the coalition led by the Social Democrats.
Former Prime Minister Enrico Letta's Social Democrats (PD) signed an agreement with two center parties on Tuesday.
In the Italian electoral system, which allocates some of its seats in parliament on the basis of pure majority voting, such alliances are crucial for success. Shortly after the fall of Prime Minister Mario Draghi's government in July, the centre-right bloc agreed to cooperate.
The three parties Fratelli d'Italia, Lega and Forza Italia are leading in polls and have the best chance of winning the elections on September 25th. The strongest force could be the post-fascist Fratelli, whose boss Giorgia Meloni wants to become prime minister.
The centre-left alliance is purely a community of convenience to prevent a right-wing government. The parties sometimes differ greatly in their programmes. In the past few days, leading politicians have sometimes attacked each other violently, especially on social media, and in some cases even do so after the agreement on cooperation. Former Minister Carlo Calenda, for example, warned Letta of further deals that have now been made and, according to the media, is already considering leaving the alliance with his center party Azione.
There is said to be no electoral cooperation with the Five Star Movement, which was the strongest party in the 2018 elections but has recently slumped in the polls and witnessed the resignation of Foreign Minister Di Maio and other parliamentarians. Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was also left out with his small party Italia Viva.
