Govt is in paralysis, we're the alternative says Zingaretti

(ANSA) - Rome, May 21 - Democratic Party (PD) leader Nicola Zingaretti said Monday that his centre-left group represented the alternative to the paralysis of the current 5-Star Movement-League coalition government. "We are in a state of paralysis," Zingaretti told an ANSA Forum ahead of this week's European elections. "The only thing they do is to reach compromises on the appointments they have to make. "In the meantime (Economy Minister Giovanni) Tria confirms that the public finances are out of control and either value-added tax will go up or services will be cut. "There is no space for development or growth. "This isn't at the expense of the PD, but at the expense of Italy".
    Lazio Governor Zingaretti was elected PD leader in March after winning party primaries.
    He is seeking to revive the party after it slumped to its worst-ever showing in last year's general election following several years as the leading group in government under ex-premiers Paolo Gentiloni, Matteo Renzi and Enrico Letta.
    "It will be long and hard," Zingaretti told the forum.
    "We won't bring out new editions of what we did in the past.
    "But as we look at the failures that this government is delivering, we see that there is a huge need to provide political representation for the many people who do not feel part of this culture (of the parties of government).
    "The single list (for the European elections) is a first step towards the reconstruction of the alternative to what we have now".