Ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD) leader Nicola Zingaretti said Monday he did not want to bring the new grassroots anti-populist Sardines movement into the party.
Zingaretti was responding to Sardines leader Mattia Santori who said Zingaretti had offered the movement a home.
Santoris' remark was prompted by Zingaretti's saying earlier that "we have to open up to society and to movements".
Santori said: "Zingaretti was right to say that they should offer a berth to those who haven'y got one".
The Sardines sprang up in November in opposition to the kind of populist and anti-migrant policies espoused by opposition nationalist League leader Matteo Salvini.
Santori welcomed what he thought was Zingaretti's offer saying "it's true we haven't got a berth and politics does right in proposing one for us".
But Zingaretti ruled this out, correcting what he had said earlier. "I don't want to bring in or include anyone, parties have the ethical and moral duty to give response to movements", he said.
"But they mustn't put their caps on them or pull them by the jacket". "I'm happy that from the words I am hearing there is an attitude of great correctness on this.
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