(AGI) - Rome, 7 Oct. - The socialists who see the merger of the socialist party with 'Sinistra e liberta' as "a political mistake" will meet Saturday morning in Rome in the Teatro Eliseo. Saverio Zavettieri and Bobo Craxi are expected to deliver speeches. On the upcoming regional elections, the socialists will decide "autonomously region by region". As for the national political direction, Bobo Craxi stated that "The socialists hold an independent stance on the current alignments, but are on the opposition to the current political majority. It is a major political mistake to merge with the Sinistra e Liberta' formation led by Vendola. At the same time it is wrong to break up into various parties that do not hail to the democratic socialist tradition. The convention on Saturday is the start of a long march to rebuild a socialist force in Italy. We want to set up a reformist alternative in our Country". Zavettieri commented that "The socialist party fell into Vendola's melting pot. This is a mistake, because left of the democratic party there is no room for the socialists. Centre-right socialists merged into Pdl. We chose the path of independence, because we want a socialist symbol on election slips". Zavettieri criticised bipolarism: "Since the 1993 referendum things in Italy have not improved. The centre-right governed for 7 years and the centre-left governed for 7 years, but the results can be seen by all". Craxi added that "The merger of the socialist party with 'Sinistra e liberta' opened up a political vacuum that must be filled. The democratic party, which apparently will be led by Bersani, does not represent the political area we want to represent. We insist in wanting to rebuild a clear socialist presence in our Country. Only the political independence of the socialists can make the socialists survive".