A strong prime minister must also be the leader of his party, Italian ex-premier and former secretary of the ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD), Matteo Renzi, said on Friday.
"The equation of (party) secretary and candidate for premier has nothing to do with statutes or with personal ambition but is standard practice in Europe," Renzi stated.
Renzi stood down as PD secretary in February, triggering a leadership battle against rivals threatening to split the centre-left.
He is the overwhelming favourite to win primaries on 30 April to choose a new secretary following the departure of most of the leading figures of the PD's leftist old guard who are forming a new party to be called Democratic Progressives.
Renzi resigned as prime minister in December following a crushing defeat in a referendum on constitutional reforms. His political ally Paolo Gentiloni was appointed care-taker premier until elections due by 2018.
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