Alemanno: “Nobody really wanted the preferential votes, not even Fratelli d’Italia”

Rome. “I had deluded myself into thinking that Fratelli d’Italia had understood,” Gianni Alemanno tells Il Foglio. “I had deluded myself into thinking that a party like Giorgia Meloni’s, with strong local roots, really cared about preferential votes…”. And what happened instead? “Instead, moments after the defeat in Parliament, FdI showed that it had never believed in it.”

The former mayor of Rome, formerly a member of the Fratelli (Rautian) party and now an adviser to Roberto Vannacci, believes that preferential voting is not really in the interests of any party – not even that of Prime Minister Meloni – at present. “Closed lists suit everyone,” he explains. “More precisely, they suit all party leaders.” The suspicion is there, but it remains just that.

So, in your view, was it all just a charade? “I wouldn’t call it a charade. But certainly, the words spoken weren’t taken entirely at face value. Merit, direct contact with citizens, the connection with the local area. All of this has been overshadowed, on both the right and the left, by party politics. With the closed list system, which locks in the party’s structure.” With the closed list system, do the party leaders put forward the candidates who cause the least trouble? “It’s the personality-driven parties that do that, and they lock in decisions at the top of political organisations.”

It was a heavy blow in Parliament. What is the fate of the Stabilicum? “I think it’s a dangerous law, for Fratelli d’Italia.” So why are they pushing it through? “Because we’ve now reached a point – and, above all, a level of media exposure – where it will be difficult to halt the bill’s progress.” Is the price to pay losing face? “There is a risk.” Why do you call it a dangerous law? “Because it makes Futuro Nazionale – General Roberto Vannacci’s party – increasingly influential within the centre-right.” Does it force them into an alliance? “Yes. Although among Meloni’s inner circle there is a view that it is better to remain in opposition than to be part of a majority with an undefined government.” Who knows.

Let’s suppose, however, a majority with Fn to Giorgia’s right. Yesterday you said you could imagine Vanancci at Palazzo Chigi and Meloni at the Quirinale. Do you really hope for that? “Oh no. It was a joke.” We read it in "Il Giornale". “I did say that. But I also added that it was a fourth-degree hypothetical.” Are you sure about that? “There’s no basis for it. That said…” (Perhaps he isn’t entirely sure.) “That said, anything is always possible.”

His new party, however, voted in favour of Galeazzo Bignami’s amendment. Were you the only ones to show loyalty? “It’s not a question of loyalty. We are convinced that preferential votes are necessary. After all, the Constitutional Court has said as much: a deadlocked electoral law is an obstacle to Italian democracy.”

You haven’t exactly been loyal. But there are those – according to Meloni’s supporters – who have actually betrayed the party. What do you think? “A secret ballot makes it easier for rebels to cast their votes. I believe they come from the centre and centre-right, but not from Fratelli d’Italia, which is a well-organised party.” Don’t you think the term ‘betrayal’ is a tad excessive? For weeks now, the Lega and Forza Italia have been saying ‘no’ to the preferential voting system. “Of course. But the party leaders had spoken out in favour of it. ‘Betrayal’ is perhaps too strong a word, but someone who hides their position lacks loyalty. They should stand up and say it loud and clear: ‘I’m voting no’.” Before standing up and accusing the centre-right of self-sabotage (loud and clear), the Fn MPs filmed themselves casting their votes. Were they right to do so? “Yes. And they did it to show they are united and consistent. We don’t get lost in the logic of party politics.” From a secret ballot to an Instagrammed vote? “It’s a contrived gesture, I realise. But it’s even more absurd to vote secretly on an issue like this. It’s a political issue. And the other political parties have shown that they don’t really believe in it.”