Former interior minister Marco
Minniti announced in an interview published in Thursday's
edition of La Repubblica that he was pulling out of the
leadership primaries of the opposition centre-left Democratic
Party.
Minniti said he was pulling out "to save the party".
The PD is still reeling after suffering its worst-ever
showing in March's general election.
The other main candidates for the March 3 primaries are
Lazio Governor Nicola Zingaretti and former agriculture minister
Maurizio Martina, who was caretaker PD leader after the election
debacle.
"When I said I was willing to run, the decision was based on
two aims - to unite our party as much as possible and reinforce
it in order to build an alternative to the national populist
government," Minniti said.
He added that he hoped a "strong leader" emerges from the
primary.
There has been speculation that ex-premier and former PD
leader Matteo Renzi could break away to form a new party.
"Don't ask me to follow the divisions of the PD," Renzi said
Thursday.
"I won't be the little puppet master of the party congress".
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