Rome : Italy’s ex-prime minister Matteo Renzi resigned as head of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) on Sunday, kicking off a leadership battle as the country’s ruling party grapples with the threat of a schism.
Renzi, who stepped down in January after losing a key referendum, said he would run to win back his post as party secretary, which would put him in pole position to become prime minister once more should the PD win approaching national elections.
The showdown with his many enemies looked set to be fierce; rebels on the far-left have been threatening to split off, with a potential fallout for the government and PD Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. Renzi pointed the finger squarely at the rebels, accusing them of having attacked him at every turn during his premiership and of trying to blackmail him into quitting as party head as the only way to prevent the threatened split.
“Schism is one of the worst words, only one is worse and that’s the word blackmail. It is unacceptable for a party to be blocked by the diktat of the minority wing,” he said. “You have the right to defeat us, not eliminate us. That’s the heart of a democracy,” he added. PTI
