Outgoing Deputy Premier and Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli on Monday announced his intention to run for mayor of Rome, a job he held for two mandates from 1993 and 2001.
The announcement was expected and came after Rutelli spent ten days visiting city neighborhoods to ''listen to the people''.
''I hereby declare my readiness to run for mayor of Rome, and it truly moves me to do so,'' Rutelli told a packed crowd at a theatre in a traditionally working class district in the city's center, Testaccio.
Rutelli, 53, will be running on the ticket of the Democratic Party (PD), which was recently created through the merger of Rutelli's centrist Daisy Party and the Democratic Left.
Rome's outgoing mayor, Walter Veltroni, is the head of the PD and its candidate for premier in the April 13-14 elections.
Rutelli's candidacy has the strong backing of the PD top brass including Veltroni, the outgoing president of the province of Rome, Enrico Gasparra, and the president of the Lazio Region, Piero Marazzo.
Rutelli said he took his decision to run for mayor after making 'surprise' visits to various parts of the city to test the political climate in the capital.
''It was important for me to get a first-hand impression, to verify whether I still had the support and confidence of those who supported me first as mayor and then on the national political scene and in government,'' Rutelli said.
Rutelli's approach was summed up by a slogan written on the curtain behind him: 'Rome deserves to be listened to'.
''This is going to be a tough battle and nothing should be taken for granted. I am proud to have received so much support and encouragement,'' he told his audience.
''What we will be fighting for will be to make sure that one of the world's most beautiful cities also becomes one of the most livable ones,'' Rutelli explained.
''I want this city to become a yardstick for the respect of the rules of coexistence. What I learned from my meetings with the people is that they want Rome to become more livable in regards to organization, services and security, through a just and firm hand against those who prey on the weak.
''Security must be guaranteed by respect and application of the rules,'' Rutelli said.
Once accused of being a political butterfly who flitted from the Radicals to the Greens and on to the centre left, Rutelli gained stature as Rome mayor, serving two mandates from 1993 to 2001.
Re-elected in 1997 with an impressive 60% of the vote, he went on to oversee a host of Catholic Jubilee works including new tram and bus links which improved traffic in the city centre.
His increased clout, telegenic looks and good relations with the Vatican saw him selected over then centre-left premier Giuliano Amato as the coalition's candidate for premier in the 2001 elections.
Although the election was won by Silvio Berlusconi's House of Liberties coalition, Rutelli won plaudits for waging an energetic campaign which garnered his Daisy party 14.5% of the vote, making it the second biggest in the centre-left coalition.
A journalist and political campaigner who chose activism over completing courses for a university degree, Rutelli became head of the libertarian and anticlericalest Radicals at the age of 26 and caucus leader for the Greens nine years later, in 1992.
Since then, he has adopted more centrist, Catholic policies, supporting the Church's stance on a number of issues.
