The PD confirms its intention to buy "L’Unità": "It must return home." Publisher Romeo: "We are also considering other expressions of interest"

"L'Unità must return home. For over a year, the Democratic Party has been working to ensure that L'Unità is once again made available to the political community to which its history is linked. We have done so with discretion, seriousness and prudence. Today, following the suspension of publication, we feel it is our duty to state clearly that our willingness to do so is wholehearted and concrete.” The PD wrote this on social media, announcing its intention to acquire the historic newspaper, currently owned by publisher Alfredo Romeo, who took it over three years ago, saving it from bankruptcy. “We are ready to purchase the newspaper immediately at a price higher than that paid at the 2022 auction. A straightforward proposal: “L’Unità” returns to the Democratic Party, with no joint ownership. We have also examined transitional solutions, including a long-term lease with a clear and binding path towards final redemption.” 

In July, Romeo announced that he had suspended publication of the newspaper following the breakdown of negotiations with the PD. In the press release, the publisher explained that he had expressed a willingness to sell "L’Unità" for a purely symbolic price, emphasising that the deal had never been driven by profit motives, but by the desire to preserve and then return the newspaper to its original context. However, the PD decided not to proceed with the negotiations. The situation now appears to have changed. 

“Unlike in the past, we are not seeking investors because we are in a position to buy and relaunch the newspaper,” the post states. “We can make this commitment because, over the past three years under Schlein’s leadership, we have put the PD back on a sound financial footing. The 2025 financial statements closed with a profit of over 3.6 million and net assets in excess of 5.5 million. The best financial results in the last 15 years.” The party also points out that it has ended the short-time working scheme for staff, as well as balancing the books and significantly increasing the resources allocated to local areas. “Thanks to this, the ‘2x1000’ scheme continues to grow: figures from July this year already show that 524,840 citizens have chosen the PD, raising over 8.1 million euros; that is, the same amount we raised in 2023 – not in six months, but in twelve.” In light of these positive figures, “we warmly welcome the appeal made to Romeo and the PD by so many leading figures from the worlds of culture and the media: from Edith Bruck to Dacia Maraini, Gad Lerner, Nadia Urbinati, Anna Foa, Moni Ovadia, Ivano Fossati and many others. Losing the voice of L’Unità would be a loss for the entire Italian left.”

The Nazareno’s intention is reportedly to recapture the spirit envisaged by Antonio Gramsci, who founded the newspaper in 1924. “Not a party bulletin, but a medium dedicated to gathering the voices and opinions of a large section of the country. Our proposal is on the table. Before other paths are taken, we hope that the desire to return "L’Unità" to its people will prevail," the post concludes. "It would be wonderful to be able to present the new "L’Unità" as early as September at the National Festival in Reggio Emilia. Not out of nostalgia. But because a left that wants to change the country also needs spaces in which to develop ideas, culture and thought." 

Romeo’s response arrived in the afternoon. “We have read the statements in which the Democratic Party asserts its desire to regain control of L’Unità. It is a legitimate position, just as — in a liberal democracy — the position of those who own a newspaper is legitimate. In a system based on private ownership and freedom of enterprise, the wishes of a political party cannot dictate the rules of the market.” Ever since the newspaper was taken over – the publisher explained – saving it from bankruptcy that would have spelled its end, Romeo Editore’s intention has been to return L’Unità to its natural home. This position has not changed since the start of the lengthy negotiations with the PD. In return for a largely symbolic sale price and the willingness to transfer a debt-free company, the sole request was to retain a minority stake, devoid of any power to control or influence the newspaper’s political and editorial line. A request – the statement clarifies – that did not stem from a profit motive, but from the desire to see recognised, even if only symbolically, the financial, organisational and entrepreneurial efforts made over recent years to keep the newspaper afloat. The Democratic Party was, and remains, naturally free to consider this proposal more or less compatible with its own vision. It has chosen not to accept it, and that is a choice we respect. What is unacceptable, a year on, is for the PD to claim – as the party treasurer said today – that it has a ‘proposal on the table’. Such a proposal does not exist today, because no one can unilaterally set conditions, especially through the press. The market works differently: the owner of an asset sets the terms on which they are willing to sell it; the prospective buyer decides whether to accept them.” Consequently, the newspaper’s owners conclude, “the publisher therefore reserves the right to freely evaluate other expressions of interest received, just as it reserves the right to preserve the publication, out of respect for its history, whilst awaiting more favourable conditions.”