Bologna Festa dell'Unità: Renzi invited, PD criticizes Calenda over Gualmini candidacy and Lepore remarks

The Festa dell'Unità in Bologna, scheduled for August 27 to September 20 at Parco Cevenini, will host Matteo Renzi's Italia Viva party but not Carlo Calenda's Azione party. Enrico Di Stasi, the provincial secretary of the Democratic Party (PD) in Bologna, announced the details, expressing dismay over Calenda and Azione's recent criticisms of Mayor Matteo Lepore concerning the Fakir case.

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We were dismayed by the statements made by him and Azione exponents in recent days.

Di Stasi also addressed the potential candidacy of Elisabetta Gualmini for the 2027 mayoral elections. He questioned her intentions, noting her past electoral successes with the PD within the center-left coalition. Di Stasi stated that Gualmini's potential alignment with the center-right would lack coherence, given her history.

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We would not see Elisabetta Gualmini's adherence to the values of the center-right as natural. She has been elected on all occasions with the Democratic Party within the center-left, so it is a matter of coherence.

The Festa will also welcome other parties from the "broad coalition," including Avs and M5s, as well as national PD leaders like Elly Schlein and Stefano Bonaccini. The event's slogan, "Bologna is the whole," aims to foster unity in a city preparing for elections next year and facing divisive rhetoric.

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Bologna is the whole.

Di Stasi voiced concern over the "avalanche of hate" directed at Mayor Lepore, which has led to him receiving police protection. He urged that the August 2 commemorative event for the Bologna train station bombing not be used for partisan visibility, but rather as a moment to support the victims' families.

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It could be just an appetizer of what we will see.