Overview
- Conte accepted primaries at the Festa dell’Unità in Genoa on Thursday and told M5S members to vote for Elly Schlein if they judge her the most competitive candidate.
- Conte and PD minister Andrea Orlando said a coalition program is already largely agreed and set a target to draw up a unified platform by the end of the month.
- Conte accused Giorgia Meloni’s four-year government of delivering “zero reforms” and blamed it for high inflation, rising energy costs and stagnant wages.
- He rejected automatic vetoes on moderate figures like Matteo Renzi or Carlo Calenda and scheduled a speaking tour of PD festivals in Bologna, Pesaro and Reggio to court voters and local officials.
- On foreign policy Conte and Orlando signalled shared positions favouring a peace-focused approach, recognition of a Palestinian state, targeted sanctions for grave violations and suspension of some military cooperation with Israel while condemning Russian aggression but urging caution to avoid escalation.