Renzi, Calenda Reach Agreement On Centrist Bloc For Election

The centrist Italia Viva (IV) and Action (A) parties have reached an agreement on forming a centrist bloc (or 'pole') for the upcoming legislative election on 25 September according to Bloomberg.

• Italia Viva, run by former PM Matteo Renzi, and Action led by Carlo Calenda, who served as a minister in the Renzi gov't, will contest the election as a joint alliance. HuffPo reports that Calenda will be the primary face of the centrist pole.
• Action had previously been aligned with the centre-left alliance of parties. However, Calenda withdrew Action following the invitation afforded to the socialist Italian Left party, which Calenda stated were too extreme for him to sit alongside.
• Latest opinion polling shows joint support for the two parties at between 4% and 6%, well short of winning a significant number of seats. The role that a centrist alliance could take is propping up a minority centre-left administration should the centre-right coalition parties significantly underperform on election day.
• Alternatively, a more visible centrist alliance could damage the centre-left's chances. Many Italia Viva and Action voters previously supported the centre-left Democratic Party (PD). Should the centrists begin to gain more press and political attention, it could damage the PD's prospects come the election.