Incumbent says he wants to win outright in 2027 with a "very broad" centre-left alliance, as the centre-right has yet to name its candidate.Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri has officially launched his campaign for re-election, appealing to opposition parties to join a wider coalition and saying he hopes to win in the first round of voting in 2027.Speaking at the Auditorium della Conciliazione on Saturday, Gualtieri, of the centre-left Partito Democratico (PD), announced: "I have decided to run again to continue changing the city. With people at the centre." The campaign slogan is "Roma, avanti tutti" ("Rome, forward everyone"). Appeal to opposition Gualtieri used the event to address the Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S) and Carlo Calenda’s centrist Azione, both of which sit in opposition on the city council. "My aim is that our friends in M5S and Azione who are here today can be part of this challenge," he said, calling for a coalition that is "broad, inclusive and open". He thanked both parties for the way they had conducted their opposition and engaged with the issues. PD leader Elly Schlein, sitting in the front row, pledged “full support”, including for the effort to widen the alliance. Also present were representatives of Greens and Left Alliance (AVS), Italia Viva, and Più Europa. SkyTG24 reported that it was the first time in at least a decade that all of Rome’s centre-left forces had gathered behind the mayor. The coalition would be broader than the national centre-left alliance, which does not include Azione. The M5S delegation, led by Rome coordinator Linda Meleo, was warm but non-committal. MP Francesco Silvestri said the party would first seek a "programme table" with the mayor and would confirm any alliance only afterwards. Achievements and promises for second term Gualtieri said his administration had done "so many things, as had not been seen for a long time, without ever quarrelling or splitting". He said he was proudest of having "reawakened the confidence that Rome can change". Alessandro Onorato, Rome's tourism councillor and national secretary of Progetto Civico Italia, which will field its own lists, went further. He said that before Gualtieri’s administration firms were leaving for the north and foreign investors were staying away, and he claimed that economic and social indicators, from GDP to employment, were now at record levels. Gualtieri listed housing, jobs, security, the environment, transport, culture, schools and health as priorities. He pledged to push on with sustainable mobility and demand more government funding for public transport, which he described as “shamefully neglected”; create a greener city, saying one of the most important tasks was to remove paving and plant more greenery; keep taking decisions whose results will only be seen after his term, "because if building sites don’t start they can’t be finished"; shift the focus "from things to people" and involve citizens more in the city’s transformation. He also criticised Giorgia Meloni's centre-right government, hoping for "another government" and “another housing plan", and calling the new highway code an "abomination" that would reduce pedestrian safety. He described the right as "backward" on climate change. Centre-right yet to name candidate The centre-right has not chosen a challenger. Names mentioned include Lazio regional vice-president Roberta Angelilli, chamber of deputies vice-president Fabio Rampelli and MP Luciano Ciocchetti, all linked to the Brothers of Italy (FdI) camp or its allies. Marco Perissa, FdI’s Rome coordinator, said the decision would be taken nationally by Meloni together with deputy premiers Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani, with talks also covering Milan. He called an announcement at FdI’s Atreju festival in December “a credible hypothesis” but for now only a “suggestion”. Rampelli wished Gualtieri “in bocca alla lupa” (good luck), describing his first term as “objectively disappointing”. FdI’s Federico Mollicone said a candidate would be unveiled “in a few days”, adding that the contest “has not even started”. Photo credit: Fabrizio Maffei / Shutterstock.com

Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri has officially launched his campaign for re-election, appealing to opposition parties to join a wider coalition and saying he hopes to win in the first round of voting in 2027. Speaking at the Auditorium della Conciliazione on Saturday, Gualtieri, of the centre-left Partito Democratico (PD), announced: "I have decided to run again to continue changing the city. With people at the centre." The campaign slogan is "Roma, avanti tutti" ("Rome, forward everyone"). Gualtieri used the event to address the Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S) and Carlo Calenda’s centrist Azione, both of which sit in opposition on the city council. "My aim is that our friends in M5S and Azione who are here today can be part of this challenge," he said, calling for a coalition that is "broad, inclusive and open". He thanked both parties for the way they had conducted their opposition and engaged with the issues. PD leader Elly Schlein, sitting in the front row, pledged “full support”, including for the effort to widen the alliance. Also present were representatives of Greens and Left Alliance (AVS), Italia Viva, and Più Europa. SkyTG24 reported that it was the first time in at least a decade that all of Rome’s centre-left forces had gathered behind the mayor. The coalition would be broader than the national centre-left alliance, which does not include Azione. The M5S delegation, led by Rome coordinator Linda Meleo, was warm but non-committal. MP Francesco Silvestri said the party would first seek a "programme table" with the mayor and would confirm any alliance only afterwards. Gualtieri said his administration had done "so many things, as had not been seen for a long time, without ever quarrelling or splitting". He said he was proudest of having "reawakened the confidence that Rome can change". Alessandro Onorato, Rome's tourism councillor and national secretary of Progetto Civico Italia, which will field its own lists, went further. He said that before Gualtieri’s administration firms were leaving for the north and foreign investors were staying away, and he claimed that economic and social indicators, from GDP to employment, were now at record levels. Gualtieri listed housing, jobs, security, the environment, transport, culture, schools and health as priorities. He pledged to push on with sustainable mobility and demand more government funding for public transport, which he described as “shamefully neglected”; create a greener city, saying one of the most important tasks was to remove paving and plant more greenery; keep taking decisions whose results will only be seen after his term, "because if building sites don’t start they can’t be finished"; shift the focus "from things to people" and involve citizens more in the city’s transformation. He also criticised Giorgia Meloni's centre-right government, hoping for "another government" and “another housing plan", and calling the new highway code an "abomination" that would reduce pedestrian safety. He described the right as "backward" on climate change. The centre-right has not chosen a challenger. Names mentioned include Lazio regional vice-president Roberta Angelilli, chamber of deputies vice-president Fabio Rampelli and MP Luciano Ciocchetti, all linked to the Brothers of Italy (FdI) camp or its allies. Marco Perissa, FdI’s Rome coordinator, said the decision would be taken nationally by Meloni together with deputy premiers Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani, with talks also covering Milan. He called an announcement at FdI’s Atreju festival in December “a credible hypothesis” but for now only a “suggestion”. Rampelli wished Gualtieri “in bocca alla lupa” (good luck), describing his first term as “objectively disappointing”. FdI’s Federico Mollicone said a candidate would be unveiled “in a few days”, adding that the contest “has not even started”. Photo credit: Fabrizio Maffei / Shutterstock.com