Italian economist Carlo Cottarelli has quit the centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) saying he was unhappy with the leftward direction new leader Elly Shlein is taking the party in.
Cremona-born Cottarelli, 68, former Italian spending review czar, ex-International Monetary Fund tax department director and currently head of Milan's Catholic University observatory on public accounts, told la Repubblica at the weekend: "It's undeniable that Schlein's election has shifted the party farther from the libereal-democratic ideas I believe in".
The economist, who says he will leave his Senate post by the end of the week, added: "I have great respect for Schlein, and I don't think she's wrong in shifting the party to the left. But having said that, I now find myself ill at ease on several issues".
A small number of more centrist leaning and former leftwing Christian Democrat figures have either left the PD or said they are thinking of doing so since Schlein beat a more moderate candidate, Emilia-Romagna Governor Stefano Bonaccini, in the PD leadership race at the end of February.
Centre right Forza Italia (FI) heavyweight and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Sunday that three-time ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's party might prove attractive for PD voters unhappy with Schlein's move to the left.
The PD has enjoyed a poll bump under Schlein's leadership, slightly closing the gap on Premier Giorgia Meloni's rightwing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party as Italy's second biggest party. A group of leftwingers who broke away to form their own small party after former leader Matteo Renzi steered the PD closer to the centre have recently returned to the fold.
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