Salvini and the League are concerned about the coalition’s new recruits, from Cateno De Luca to Bandecchi. But there are those who are assessing how much clout the centre-right has without the League and with the secretary of Azione. De Luca is broadening his horizons and envisages the CDU and CSU as the norm

“Roberto Occhiuto is doing a good job as mayor; he has provided the much-needed shake-up. And we are interested in his approach within Forza Italia.” These are the words of Senator Marco Lombardo and Francesco De Nisi, regional secretary of Azione in Calabria.

“The centre-right is making compromises by continuing to keep someone like Salvini in the coalition, with his nonsense about Ukraine. We have had the door open for some time now, both in Parliament and on the ground.” Speaking are MP Ruffino and Piedmont regional councillor Bartoli

“Those who think and vote in the same way should, logically, stand together in the elections. We were wrong to make too many statements and do too little work on our manifestos,” says the MP

“From now until midnight, I am joining the hunger strike organised by Pina Picierno to draw international attention to Oleshky, a Ukrainian town where thousands of people are trapped in territory occupied by the Russian army,” writes the leader of Azione. Over 400 people have signed up to the campaign launched by the Vice-President of the European Parliament.

The secretary of Azione on Rai Radio 1: “Renzi is with the left today, with Vannacci tomorrow. Marattin is now moving to the right but was the rapporteur for the Superbonus in the Conte II government.” Iv remains in the centre-left, the Libdems are looking to Meloni, whilst Azione and Picierno are in Bologna on 7 November

How does the ‘democratic shield’ work? “Through preventive action against interference,” says the former minister, “but also through response mechanisms and the adoption of countermeasures, with the establishment of a public-private analysis committee that informs DIS and AGCOM of any threats detected, to ensure the transparency and integrity of the electoral process and the transparency of funding"

The mechanism to counter interference by hostile powers deserves bipartisan support. It would send a significant political signal: the government and the opposition jointly recognising that the defence of national sovereignty also depends on the ability to prevent other countries from manipulating the views of Italian
voters