Milan elections: Forza Italia opens door to allies, Sorte says, “A politician is fine too, as long as it is a fresh face”

Forza Italia is opening the door to a political candidate in the center-right’s long-running search for a challenger in Milan, with regional coordinator Alessandro Sorte suggesting the coalition could settle on a name as early as next week.

The shift follows months of disagreement over whether the coalition should choose a civic figure, a position backed especially by Forza Italia, or a politician, favored by Brothers of Italy and Noi Moderati. Sorte now says both options remain possible, as long as the candidate is fresh, innovative and capable of winning.

“A politician is fine too, a fresh and innovative figure,” Sorte said. “And with our allies we could settle the issue as early as next week.” He added that the decisive test was not whether the candidate was civic or political, but whether the person could win the election without turning the contest into a purely political confrontation.

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A politician is fine too, a fresh and innovative figure. And with our allies we could settle the issue as early as next week.

Sorte said a civic candidate could broaden the coalition’s appeal beyond its existing base. He maintained that former economy minister Carlo Cottarelli would have suited that strategy, but said vetoes from the coalition’s right wing had wasted the opportunity. A new political figure could still work, he argued, if the candidate could represent the Milan of the coming years.

He declined to name a possible candidate, while saying he expected a turning point in the talks next week. Forza Italia does not claim an automatic right to put forward the nominee, Sorte said, recognizing the electoral weight of its allies. But he argued that the party’s history in Milan could make it the most effective force in building a governing coalition for the city.

Sorte also said he continued to appeal to Action voters in the Third Pole, despite Carlo Calenda’s endorsement of Mario Calabresi. He criticized the prospect of Action aligning with a more radical Democratic Party under Elly Schlein, a stronger Green and Left Alliance, and the Five Star Movement, saying that combination would make its internal contradiction even clearer.

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Winning. That is what matters.