Romano Prodi, former prime minister, is the guest on the April 12 episode of Otto e mezzo, La7’s pre-night talk show hosted by Lilli Gruber, and begins his speech with the moves that Elly Schlein will have to make in the new direction of the Democratic Party: “I said very clearly that if Schlein does not recover the left and center he will lose future elections. Let’s wait for him to make some decisions to see if he’s too leftist. In my opinion, he is less unbalanced than you think. I never said who I voted for and I won’t add tonight either. I believe that obediently winning a vote for the center is also easier thanks to the fights of Matteo Renzi and Carlo Calenda, of a center with no possibilities for expansion and people are convinced to vote for the center right or center left, they don’t see the alternative space in the center. The problem is to compose diversities. A party is never homogeneous and it cannot be, because that is democracy. Compromise is a noble word, and I ask that of Schlein, compromise on everything. Politics and economic and social rights are a bunch of flowers that must be together, the problem is not to accentuate them. I fought a big battle for civil rights and I lost a lot too. I consider rights to be of colossal importance, but they cannot become the exclusive flag of a party”.
Then Prodi dwells on Giorgia Meloni and the government: “Being alone in Europe is never worth it. Everyone says they don’t understand this thing about Italy and the Mes. If Italy doesn’t want to enter, it doesn’t use it, it lets others move on, it seems almost a spite, and it should never be done in Europe. But I trust their reasonableness, that in the end they will say yes, also because there is no alternative. Let’s say I’m offered food that I don’t like, I don’t eat it, but I can’t tell others not to eat it”.
Gruber discusses the issue with former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a longtime political opponent: “First of all, I sincerely wish Berlusconi to recover and return to normal. The differences between us have always been and still are huge. We have different conceptions of the country, of solidarity, of openness to the outside world, otherwise we would not have joined two competing coalitions. But as a person – comments Prodi – I send my warmest wishes”.
Source: IL Tempo

Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.