Italian PM Renzi Attacks British Labour Over Corbyn
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi attacked the British Labour party on Monday over the recent election of left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn.
In a meeting of his Democratic Party (PD) members of parliament, the centre-left prime minister questioned Labour's ability to win elections under Corbyn, according to newspaper.
"After what happened with Corbyn, I think [David] Cameron is the happiest of all about Corbyn's win," Renzi said at the meeting, which was shown on television.
"It's not a question of being Blairite or anti-Blairite," he added, referring to followers of former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, "it's a matter of 'Do you want to go to elections like you go to the Olympics, to win or to participate'?"
Renzi's PD is part of the same grouping as Labour in the European parliament, making the attack highly unusual. Renzi is pushing through constitutional reforms for which he may have to rely on conservative support and is wary of the left of his party becoming restive.
Corbyn won a resounding victory in the Labour leadership contest earlier this month, securing almost 60 percent of the vote, with many new members and supporters backing him after the party almost tripled its membership since the general election defeat in May.
However, a poll at the weekend found that only 28 percent of the public thought that the bearded veteran left-winger looked like a prime minister in waiting.
Renzi was also critical of former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, Reuters reports. "We got rid of him too," he joked. Greece's left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was returned to power at the weekend after calling snap polls as a result of losing his parliamentary majority when anti-austerity rebels including Varoufakis refused to back a new bailout deal. Varoufakis has since stepped back from politics.
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