The fourteenth edition of the Italia Viva leader's rally has come to an end. Many guests on stage before Renzi's final speech who recalled: "The other time Meloni won because the centre-left was divided into three, if we are united this time we will win".
The three days of events and debates of Leopolda 2026 have reached their conclusion. Many guests on the last day, including the national president of Confesercenti, Nico Gronchi and the president of the Democratic Party, Stefano Bonaccini. The organizer and leader of Italia Viva, Matteo Renzi: "Here at Leopolda there are few women but they will be in the majority on the Casa Riformista list". Then, on the prime minister: "Meloni is at a crossroads: either she goes to the Quirinale or she goes home. I say this to those who think that the Italian debate is linked to the egos of the centre-left, the game doesn't concern us, it's a dry one. I work so that at the crossroads Meloni takes the direction to go home. I don't care who is the prime minister, the minister. At the moment I don't give a damn." And he recalled: "The other time Meloni won because the centre-left was divided into three, if we are united this time we will win". Then he launched an appeal to the centrists and reformists of Forza Italia: "Come with us". Relations with the M5s? “There are more things that unite us than divide us.”
Renzi: "Leopolda is a nursery of ideas"
"Here at Leopolda we do politics", said Renzi who spoke at the end of the morning of debates. "For 14 editions, Leopolda has been the home of politics, it is the nursery of ideas", added the IV leader underlining that "here for years we have been trying to launch ideas for the country". "We come from a deep economic crisis and our proposal this year is essentially the middle class decree, but before we get there, let's look each other in the eyes, there is a spiritual crisis before an economic one", he explained.
Renzi on Conte, the centrists and Forza Italia
Renzi stated that it is he who is asking Giuseppe Conte for guarantees, in particular he asks for three: "never again Salvini at the Interior Ministry, never again Giorgetti in the Council of Ministers and that we will never be on Donald Trump's side". "I ask for the guarantee of sending to the Quirinale a person who is neither a sovereignist nor a populist, but a pro-European - he added -. We give a guarantee on the primaries, on the Quirinale, on the fact that we will never lower the flag of guaranteeism". Then he launched an appeal "to all centrists, my great appeal goes to the reformists, in particular of Forza Italia: leave the party and come with us, you cannot be with those who deny Europe. The doors are open and I am sure that some signals will arrive shortly".
Renzi on Ukraine and Cuba
On the Leopolda stage, the IV leader also spoke about the geopolitical situation, recalling that "what is happening in Cuba is a shame". Then on the conflict in Eastern Europe, he underlined that "Ukraine does not sell out, Ukraine defends itself". "It is clear that Russia is the aggressor. We demand the diplomatic effort - said Renzi - it will not be weapons that will end the war, weapons are needed because without them there would no longer be Ukraine. And we must explain to the champions of tweets that foreign policy is a serious matter and must be done. On these issues we are not afraid of anyone".
Bonaccini: "We need an alternative project"
Before Matteo Renzi's final speech, MEP Stefano Bonaccini took the floor. "I won't be trivial about the challenge we face in the coming months. It's true that the right-wingers and sovereignists are testing the government throughout the West, making the world more insecure and even less prosperous in Europe. But while in the US we are confident that, in a few weeks, Trump will be able to take a peaceful and democratic beating in the midterms", "in Europe the extreme right-wingers are flying", said the president of the Democratic Party. On what the center-left can do, the former president of the Emilia Romagna region reported that "the unity of the coalition is not a sufficient condition for winning but we must quickly present a project for the alternative. It is not enough to continue speaking badly of Meloni to win, we need a project. For a few weeks let's abolish the word primaries".
The program of the final day of Leopolda 2026
The morning of Leopolda 2026 events was kicked off by the deputies, senators and regional councilors of Italia Viva. During the morning, the following spoke: Nico Gronchi, National President of Confesercenti with an event entitled: "Fighting the high cost of living"; the mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo; the doctor and MEP Pietro Bartolo; Simone Uggetti, former mayor of Lodi and the lawyer Gian Domenico Caiazza. The proposal to award the fourteenth salary for teachers, police forces and nurses was also illustrated. The doctor Tommaso Pellegrino, the senator Pierferdinando Casini and the MEP and president of the Democratic Party Stefano Bonaccini also spoke to the public.
