'Tortellini pact' goes cold as Manuel Valls launches bid for presidency
Manuel Valls on Monday announced he was resigning as French prime minister in order to run to become the socialist candidate in next year’s presidential elections. On the same day, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation following his heavy defeat in a referendum on his proposed constitutional reforms. In 2014, the two men trumpeted their shared vision of “modernising” the European Left. Mediapart editor François Bonnet argues why the fall of Renzi should sound alarm bells for Valls.
ItIt was Sunday September 7th 2014, and the Italian press dubbed the event as “the Tortellini pact”. Meeting together in Bologna for the summer Festa de l'Unità organised by Italy’s Democratic Party, Matteo Renzi and Manuel Valls were seated before plates of pasta while Renzi proclaimed that “the modern Left” was “the right answer for our countries” and that it was on the way to conquer Europe.
