Italian centre parties form alliance ahead of Sep polls

Rome, Aug 12 (IANS) Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and former minister Carlo Calenda have agreed to form a centrist alliance ahead of the September 25 general election.

Renzi's small party Italia Viva (Italy Alive) and Calenda's Azione (Action) party are looking to win over moderate voters,reports dpa news agency.

In the Italian electoral system, which allocates part of its seats in parliament according to pure majority voting, such alliances are crucial for success.

According to opinion polls, the centre-right alliance led by the right-wing party Brothers of Italy, is currently in the lead and has the best prospects of winning.

Meanwhile, the centre-left alliance led by the Social Democrats (PD) will fail to win a majority even if it joined forces with the centrist group, the polls predict.

The new alliance is hoping to win over voters from Forza Italia, led by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, as two of his party's most prominent faces, the ministers Mariastella Gelmini and Mara Carfagna have already left and will join the alliance's election campaign, led by Caleda.

The former Minister still hopes to convince outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi to stay on after the elections.