Italia Viva’s summer festival. Renzi makes himself indispensable to the broad coalition: “Without us, we’ll lose”

The Kraken is celebrating. It’s Italia Viva’s summer party, Matteo Renzi’s summer party. The venue is the Satyrus, a bar overlooking the Galleria Borghese, in the heart of the capital’s most famous park. At 35 degrees at seven in the evening, the former Prime Minister arrives in a white shirt, offers ice cream for everyone (which will be provided, at the party’s expense) and apologises: “It’s hot, but what the f… blimey!” On to the questions. Electoral law: “Meloni lost the public’s trust with the referendum and lost the trust of the establishment with the secret ballot on preferences.” Vannacci: “If Meloni brings him on board, they’ll both lose face. If she doesn’t, they’ll lose the election.” Campo Largo: “Without us, we’ll lose. We won’t veto anything; we’ll open the doors.”

At the event, Matteo Renzi rallies his supporters. And he calls for mobilisation. “You have forty-five days to enjoy your holidays and see your loved ones; then, from 1 September, all hell will break loose.” He marks the date as the start of the election campaign – his own and that of everyone else. It is also the date on which his new book, "Quando c’era lei – L’Italia dopo Giorgia Meloni" is due to be published. The former prime minister throws open the doors to his allies and anyone willing to help, banking on a centre-left victory: “This is a risky business; anyone who’s afraid should stay at home.” Even her own seat, she points out, might not be retained. And she sets out her condition for a certain victory: the centre-left alliance must include a reformist component: “I’m not part of the broad coalition; I’m something else entirely. But without Casa Riformista, the broad coalition will only reach forty per cent, and with just forty per cent, the broad coalition will lose.”

He also responds to attacks from those who oppose him, the Five Star Movement: “Who is it that grants credentials of reliability?”. And he retorts in kind: “Do we want to talk about the past? I’m ready, because I stand by everything I’ve done. I didn’t send Salvini to the Ministry of the Interior, I didn’t sign the security decrees. I’m the one who ousted Salvini from the Conte II government and sent Mattarella to the Quirinale and Draghi to Palazzo Chigi.” And he responds to Chiara Appendino: “If anyone wants to talk about the past, I repeat that we’re ready. Gualtieri can explain a thing or two about how events are organised, given the Ultimo concert. I don’t think Chiara Appendino is in a position to explain much about how events in public squares are organised...". 

The reformist bar welcomed almost all the Italia Viva MPs: Maria Elena Boschi, Roberto Giachetti, Marianna Madia, Ivan Scalfarotto and Raffaella Paita. Also present was Benedetto Della Vedova, of +Europa, who is close to Renzi – as mentioned – which is why he is currently at loggerheads with the other leading figure in the pro-European party, Riccardo Magi. No other political figures dropped by to say hello, apart from the Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, who played a couple of chords on the guitar.

The Leopolda conference is scheduled for next October; the summer will pass and will be a time to rest. In his speech from the stage, Renzi became impassioned and outlined the agenda. “Do you know what happens if we lose? Meloni goes to the Quirinale and Vannacci to Palazzo Chigi. I see this scenario as something out of a horror film and I want to avoid it. To do so, we need votes, and as well as the Campo Largo vote, we need the reformist vote of those who believe in development and pro-Europeanism.” There is a lot to do, a great deal.