Renzi gives PD pep talk

(ANSA) - Rome, May 9 - Premier Matteo Renzi opened a meeting of the executive of his Democratic Party (PD) Monday by saying the PD was a party that debated things openly rather than being run by "dynasties". He did not specify which parties he was referring to.
    Renzi then recalled former Christian Democrat statesman Aldo Moro and Sicilian anti-mafia campaigner Peppino Impastato, both killed on this day in 1978 - one by the Red Brigades and the other by Cosa Nostra. He also called for the PD to "make an effort not to be ashamed of what we have achieved and what is yet to be achieved". "I'm not asking for a moratorium on controversy," he said after several recent corruption probes hit the centre-left group. "I don't want to underplay the many problems we have at the local level - which are fewer than the media would have us believe, and more than there should be".
    Renzi said courts must swiftly sentence corrupt officials if they find them guilty. "It is a civil duty to know whether or not there are people who are polluting," he said. "It is a country's duty not to live off impulsive valuations...let trials take place and let us at the same time respect the sentences - you will never find me commenting on a sentence once it's been handed down".
    He also slammed what he said is a double standard in how other parties - such as the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) and rightwing anti-immigrant Northern League - deal with official corruption in their midst. "(Some) are civil libertarians with their own and tough on crime with others (but) we are genuine civil libertarians - we aren't asking for (M5S Livorno Mayor Filippo) Nogarin to resign". Nogarin was notified Saturday he is under investigation for fraudulent bankruptcy conspiracy in connection with the city trash collection company.
    The premier went on to give a pep talk ahead of June 5 local elections across Italy, saying (PD) leaders must "proudly hoist the PD banner" and lay claim to party achievements on the European, national and local level "so we can gain one or two points, especially in cities where we risk not making the runoff vote".
    After that vote, Renzi said he plans to revamp the party secretariat. "By the end of the year we will modify it in a clear, open and frank way," he told the PD executive.
    He urged them to put aside "internal bickering" and wage "five months of extraordinary mobilisation in as many municipalities as possible" for an October referendum on his constitutional reform law overhauling Italy's political apparatus. The center-left premier said he would not "personalise" the referendum on his flagship reform of Italy's political machinery, but repeated that he would step down if he lost it. Right after that vote, he said, the PD must start preparing for its 2017 congress, which he asked the executive to bring forward by a few months. "I will be there," he said.