Bonelli: 'Ranucci candidacy a fabrication. We must focus on the program, not leadership squabbles to win'

Angelo Bonelli, leader of the Alliance of Greens and Lefts (Avs), has categorically denied rumors that Sigfrido Ranucci will be a candidate for the party. Bonelli dismissed the reports as "totally baseless news," attributing them to a lack of other stories during August.

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It is totally baseless news that I can only justify with the news vacuum of August.

Ranucci is scheduled to attend Avs's "Terra" festival, where he was invited to present a book. Bonelli stressed that this does not signify a candidacy.

Bonelli also commented on Giuseppe Conte's remarks about "woke culture," suggesting it's an American phenomenon irrelevant to Italy. He believes political energy should be directed towards building a program, a sentiment he extended to Elly Schlein. Bonelli stated that he sees no "excesses" in Italy regarding this issue, but rather a lack of attention to the economic and social crisis. He pointed out that Italy lacks legislation to punish discrimination and noted that the DDL Zan bill, which he partially disagreed with, was blocked despite aiming to penalize discrimination against various groups.

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I would tell him that woke culture is a typically American phenomenon that has nothing to do with Italy.

Regarding the center-left coalition, Bonelli sees a significant opportunity to win elections and prevent what he calls "degenerations" from a right-wing government. He believes this requires immediate focus on a program with five fundamental points, warning that infighting over leadership will lead to electoral defeat. Bonelli highlighted key program areas such as addressing the drought crisis, making the tax system fairer, and focusing on the economic and social impact on the middle class. He also noted Avs's long-standing call for action on excess profits, a point now also raised by Schlein.

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The excesses I see in Italy are that we do not deal with the economic and social crisis.

When asked about the coalition's size, Bonelli stated he doesn't care about alliances and has no vetoes, declining to comment specifically on Matteo Renzi's potential inclusion.

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We have rivers drying up and instead the left is very inattentive to the climate crisis.