Reggio Emilia, September 11, 2026 – A warm affectionate and collective embrace. This is how the audience in the Francesco Guccini hall of the Festa dell’Unità di Reggio welcomed the former minister Dario Franceschini, at his first public appearance after the interview given to Corriere della Sera in which he revealed he is affected by Parkinson’s disease, diagnosed in 2020. With him on stage the leader of ItaliaViva Matteo Renzi, former prime minister and senator of the PD.
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Renzi’s tribute
“We must be grateful to Dario. The way one reacts to a difficulty and supports loved ones in facing this difficulty makes the difference between a true person and one who is not,” is Renzi’s tribute. He chose this stage to send clear messages to the PD: he does not intend to run in the coalition primaries, nor does he ask to sit at the table for the center-left program. And he does not even claim a guaranteed seat in Parliament.
The issue of the primaries
On the issue of the primaries, Renzi opens possibilities, stating however that “my candidacy does not seem to make sense” even if “if managed well, they are not divisive, but an excellent place for discussion.” Then again. “I am not on the majoritarian list. I say no to a guaranteed seat. If Iv does not get votes, it is possible that it stays out of Parliament.” And then the substance. “There are those who say: I don’t want to see Renzi in the photo with Schlein, Conte and Avs – Renzi said – I should not be in that photo, I don’t want to be. We are willing to be represented by someone who is not Renzi: I would identify a mayor, male or female” like “Salis and Manfredi”.
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The need to stay united
Renzi insists on the need to stay united, because otherwise “in the next elections they win and if that happens, Meloni goes to the Quirinale and the second of the coalition, who could be Vannacci, goes to Palazzo Chigi.” Unity also demanded by Franceschini, who acknowledges that “whether we like it or not, without M5s elections cannot be won.” On support for Ukraine, Renzi recalls that “in February 2022 I said there was a need for a special EU envoy to Ukraine, because peace is built with diplomacy. However, I am convinced that if we had not given weapons to Ukraine and sanctions to the Russians, today Ukraine would not exist.” Finally a comment on the AfD victory in Saxony: “Globalization has brought new fears. The right has given only an illusory response of protection. We must understand, however, that the world has changed and ideological answers can no longer suffice,” Franceschini concluded.
