Premier Paolo Gentiloni said
Friday that there is no risk of Italy having a populist
government after the March 4 general election.
"After the vote the president will direct the country... but
Italy will have a government and I think it will have a stable
government," Gentiloni said after meeting German Chancellor
Angela Merkel in Berlin.
"I don't see any risk of Italy having a government with
populist, anti-European positions".
He added, however, that he sees the centre-left coalition led
by his Democratic Party (PD) as the only truly pro-European
contender.
"I think that the only possible pillar for a stable,
pro-Europe government can be the centre-left coalition led by
the PD," Gentiloni told a news conference.
Gentiloni refused to be drawn into speculation about who will
form the Italian government after the election, amid speculation
the outcome could be inconclusive.
"I think that the government solutions for our country are
not stated by the polls, but by the voters on March 4 and we
must all respect the voters' decision," Gentiloni said.
Gentiloni's Democratic Party (PD) has lost support in recent
months, according to opinion polls.
Gentiloni also said the possibility of a grand-coalition
government was a topic that should be left until after the March
4 general election.
"A grand coalition is a discussion to be had after the
elections.
"Before the elections, like in Germany and all democratic
countries, the Democratic Party (PD) and its allies make their
proposals to voters.
"That's what they must do," Gentiloni said on La7 TV show
Otto e Mezzo.
"I want to wage an electoral campaign with the PD which is
the most credible and trustworthy party, I don't do a campaign
on post-vote deals.
"Let's not give the impression that it (a grand coalition)
is inevitable, because there may be surprises in the election
result".
Meanwhile 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader and premier candidate
Luigi Di Maio said Friday that the anti-establishment group will
take legal action against three parliament candidates it has
withdrawn its backing for because they failed to reveal
links to the Freemasons.
He said the three "liars" would not get off "scot-free."
"There are three candidates who lied to us," Di Maio said in
a video released on Facebook.
"They did not tell us they belonged to the Masons. But we
have not just expelled them from the M5S, we will report them
for damage to the image of the M5S too".
He added that the candidates will be asked to give up their
seats if they are elected.
The M5S's campaign for the March 4 general election has been
hit by the Freemasons case and a furore about a number of M5S
lawmakers who cheated on an internal movement pledge to pay part
of their salaries into a fund to finance small businesses.
Di Maio has stressed that the pledge cheats are only a
handful of "bad apples" who will be rooted out and has said that
the M5S elected officials had paid back over 23 million euros of
their salaries.
"Those who lied to me and to the voters will not get away
it," he said.
"As you can see in the polls, not only are they not hurting
us, but we are on the up.
"(PD leader Matteo) Renzi is losing (ground) and we are
gaining".
Also Friday, League leader Matteo Salvini snubbed PD leader
Renzi saying he would not have a TV debate with him ahead of the
March 4 general election, prompting Renzi to say campaigns
without televised debates were absurd.
Anti-migrant, Euroskeptic League leader Salvini on Friday
said he would not engage in a TV debate with Renzi ahead of the
election.
Salvini said he had been "asking for face-to-face talks with
Renzi for years and he always indignantly refused, and now I'm
supposed to suddenly interrupt my electoral tour to make him
happy - it's too late".
"I'm not going to betray the thousands of voters who flock to
my rallies, who are awaiting me next week in Emilia and Tuscany,
which have been betrayed by the PD.
"I'm looking to the future and I'm not going to waste my time
with someone who's had too much time.
"If Renzi wants a debate I'll see him in a piazza, perhaps in
Bologna where many voters are shifting from the PD to the
League."
Renzi responded to Salvini's snub by saying general-election
debate without TV debates is "absurd".
Summing up "the situation" on Facebook, Renzi said Salvini
did not want to debate him on TV because "he doesn't have time
for TV, he must do rallies in piazzas" while Di Maio doesn't
want a debate "because I haven't got the same status as him, I'm
not up to his level."
Centre-right Forza Italia (FI) leader Silvio Berlusconi,
meanwhile, "only has debates with (RAI talk show host Bruno)
Vespa and his memories".
Renzi said: "It doesn't change much for us: we will be the
top parliamentary group (after the March 4 elections), the top
party.
"I'm struck by the absurdity of a political debate without TV
debates.
"Welcome to the 2018 Italian electoral campaign".
Di Maio reiterated Friday he would not debate Renzi on
Italian television.
"Not even Salvini finds a debate with the PD leader
interesting.
"Renzi, a man alone with the remote control," Di Maio said on
Twitter, posting a link to Laura Pausini's song La Solitudine
(Loneliness).
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
