The left-wing primary race. Barbacetto takes a swipe at Majorino

Not all the players have even officially taken to the field yet, for the simple reason that the playing field is not yet clear. The primaries have not been called – who knows if they ever will be – and in any case, the rules have not been laid down; the wise men have not yet done anything.

‘It’s far too early,’ Beppe Sala was keen to point out from the stage at the Festa dell’Unità, recalling his personal history in the internal contest within the PD (in which Pierfrancesco Majorino gave him a decisive helping hand…). However, the centre-left is unlikely to be able to procrastinate indefinitely, even if this is the wish of the extremely powerful national secretary Elly Schlein, who is focused solely on national politics and has very little interest in local issues.

Thus, in this strange game, the Democrats are almost reluctant to make any moves – at least in terms of dialogue. Majorino, who is expected to officially enter the race as the candidate backed by the party secretary and a large section of the party, appears alongside Bersani at the Festa, but remains silent. The only barbs are directed at Azione, which continues to campaign actively for Mario Calabresi, probably doing him more harm than good.

Because today there are two challenges facing the former editor of La Repubblica. The first is to ensure an open and competitive contest – no easy task. In an unintended historical paradox, Majorino could this time be the consensus candidate without a primary – yet again, following the regional elections – despite being a figure who has always advocated for them, as evidenced by a series of unequivocal public statements. The second challenge for every candidate is to focus on their own side of the ‘field’ (see Anna Scavuzzo and Emmanuel Conte for Calabresi) so as not to split the vote.

On the Majo front, there are rumours that Lorenzo Pacini might well step down sooner or later, although he categorically denies this and is pressing ahead with his proposal for ‘municipal socialism’, which has the merit of enjoying widespread support amongst the young and the left, but the drawback that, in politics, there is a world of difference between saying and doing. However, these are signs: the left could be rallying behind a single candidate. Certainly, the internal rifts within the Young Democrats do no favours, making the coexistence of Lorenzo Pacini and Paolo Romano extremely complicated, amidst a wholly left-wing dynamic centred on the division of a total of four – yes, four – seats available in Rome: the only ‘clearing house’ currently available to force someone to stand down. One of the four seats, moreover, is expected to be reserved for Beppe Sala in the Senate. Against this backdrop – which currently looks promising for Majorino – the stance of Gaetano Pedullà, a Member of the European Parliament for the Five Star Movement, stands out. Reflecting the sentiment of a not insignificant section of the left, he is reviving Gianni Barbacetto’s candidacy and recalling the regional elections, where the alliance behind Majorino was not rewarded by the voters. Barbacetto, for his part, had long since set his sights on the former Welfare Councillor – linking him unequivocally to Beppe Sala and his administration, of which he was in fact a member (the infamous ‘concrete lobby’? Oops!) – should he enter the race, he could trigger several shifts. The first is that he would tap into those left-wing votes that openly challenge the record of the last 10 years. The second is that he might also attract to his team people who are currently active under other banners, such as the former public prosecutor Tiziana Siciliano (who is now backing Massimiliano Lisa’s candidacy). The third shift would be within the M5S: he could legitimately demand a seat in Parliament in the event of defeat. And if there are only four seats available for the PD, imagine how few there might be for Conte. Amid this calm chaos—with frantic thinking and meetings, scheming and debating—the vision to present to the people of Milan, however, seems to have completely vanished from view. And so too has the strategy for immediate issues, such as the tender for local public transport, which, at least in theory, puts ATM at risk. Political manoeuvring takes no account of reality, at least until it is time to go to the polls.