Nicola Zingaretti offers himself as a possible candidate for prime minister of Italy: “It depends on the party”.

The president of the Italian region of Lazio, Nicola Zingaretti, has offered himself this Monday as a possible successor to Mario Draghi as prime minister of the country if and when his formation, the Democratic Party, so wishes.

Thus, he has indicated that this “depends in practice entirely on the party.” “I am available for a political project,” he said in view of the early elections that will take place on September 25 after Draghi’s resignation as head of the Executive.

However, he has pointed out that “that will depend on (Enrico) Letta”, the secretary general of the formation. His words come after his name sounded insistently during the last days as a possible protagonist of a jump to national politics.

“My council is over because after two mandates in Lazio we cannot run again, and I think that two mandates for a regional president are enough, so we need a change,” he said in an interview with the radio station Radio Rai.

Zingaretti has assured that he will “fight, street by street, in the squares, to recover hope and bring it back to the people and the community. We don’t need to put an end to hope,” he said.

About the electoral campaign, he has pointed out that he considers that “the most important thing is to talk to the people”. “The message must be clear: in the face of the pandemic we must be the force that ensures that no one is left behind,” he said, before clarifying that this means “tackling poverty”.

“The Democratic Party has been a fundamental force in fighting the coronavirus and moving the recovery plan forward, a fundamental source of investment,” he said.

However, he has ruled out that for the moment there is the possibility of allying with the 5 Star Movement despite the fact that “unfortunately, they have shared a good journey together.” “The credibility of something like that would not hold,” he has added.

The party board will meet this Tuesday from 9.00 to address these issues.