The Russian ambassador to Italy, Paramonov, has explained how keenly he is watching the divisions in Italian politics, causing some embarrassment for Giuseppe Conte and Roberto Vannacci. Here is the unprecedented breadth of the political landscape, best viewed from Moscow

“The Congress is the best time to put ideas on the table,” said the Carroccio secretary at the end of the Federal Council meeting, ahead of the Congress on 24 and 25 October. For the occasion, given that it is an election process, he himself and the deputy secretaries Sardone, Durigon and Stefani have stepped down from their posts

“If we do not develop structural, long-term solutions to high energy prices, we risk becoming increasingly at the mercy of emergencies.” Giorgia Meloni once again highlights energy costs as one of the key issues affecting European and Italian competitiveness

Dozens of weapons have been melted down to create a metal carpet on which citizens walk back and forth from the Chamber of Deputies. There is no symbol, but a message: ‘We are above it all’. This is how the comedian continues to titillate the imaginations of the Five Star Movement supporters

The Prime Minister will report on the forthcoming European Council meeting. Here is the draft resolution endorsed by the majority: on the agenda are the Ukraine issue and the government’s proposal to appoint a special envoy for the conflict

“We cannot remain neutral between the aggressor and the victim, for ethical reasons and for military reasons, because today Europe’s borders are not where the maps show them to be; they are in Ukraine.” The Justice Minister’s remarks at the Festival of Optimism

The acclaimed star brings the day in Florence to a close. A lively exchange with Occhiuto, then everyone heads off for dinner, amid a sense of melancholy and the memories of those who were there

Wiretaps used for political gain, a media witch-hunt and an unlikely ‘fuck you’ to the culture of punishment. After Ranucci, Scarpinato: the M5S senator, a former magistrate, is discovering first-hand the damage caused by the media-judicial circus

In the 2022 general election, the centre-right had promised an ambitious reform: a presidential system. Over time, this idea was watered down, first into a semi-presidential system, then into a ‘premierato’ system, and finally into a reform that provides for the nomination of the prime ministerial candidate in the coalition’s manifesto.

“It’s a shame, but that’s how it is,” says the former prime minister, admitting that defeating Meloni is what holds the centre-left together. On Appendino: “She says she’ll veto me; we don’t put forward candidates who have been definitively convicted, like her.” On the primaries: “If the vote is in November, we’ll hold them in May; if it’s in June, we’ll hold them in February. Between Conte and Schlein, I’d vote for her in a heartbeat.”