Tajani’s factions. New clash over preferences. Party conferences postponed (and there is a splinter group in Campania)

If Stefania Craxi herself admits that the debate within Forza Italia on the electoral law was a ‘frank’ one, it is easy to see how things might actually have gone. A two-hour meeting in the Senate, where Secretary Antonio Tajani’s leadership came under fire. No fewer than two ministers – Paolo Zangrillo, Minister for Public Administration, and Maria Alberta Casellati, Minister for Reforms – took a stand against the ‘unlimited preferences’ approach. The Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Pichetto Fratin, did not even turn up. Zangrillo took the floor to say that “Forza Italia cannot become the party of village festivals”. The group present consisted of the parliamentary group leader Craxi and Senators Ronzulli, Fazzone and Galliani, described as among the most critical. Addressing Galliani directly, Tajani chooses a footballing metaphor to say that “Forza Italia must change its formation, just like Milan did after Van Basten”. Except that the former executive based at Milanello reminds him that “after Van Basten there was also Lapadula, and Milan finished seventh...”. Silence and amusement. Deputy Minister for Justice Sisto raises questions of constitutionality. The tense atmosphere is summed up by the note, “reliable sources within FI”, which denies the Tajani–Craxi clash whilst simultaneously lending it credibility.

And to think that the secretary had intended the meeting to serve as a means of ironing out differences. The Deputy Prime Minister is pushing for the amendment sought by Prime Minister Meloni to be approved. Meanwhile, the Berlusconi faction, led by the group leader in the Senate, wants greater autonomy. For this reason, among the critical voices, there were those who explained to Tajani that “in the end we’ll vote, but let it be clear that it’s your choice”. Emerging from the meeting in public, the Foreign Minister was unable to show more than a half-hearted openness: “It has been decided that any amendment introducing the issue of preferences may be considered favourably. But we want there to be a discussion amongst the centre-right parties before the amendment is tabled, with the aim of reaching an agreement’. In the words of deputy group leader Roberto Rosso, ‘for now, our position is a “maybe”’. Among the changes sought by the Craxi wing is the restoration of gender alternation in the expression of preferences regarding list leaders; without this, the negotiations may not even get off the ground. There will be time to meet, given that the debate on the Stabilicum begins today in the Constitutional Affairs Committee and the deadline for tabling amendments has been set for 1 September (with the bill due to reach the Chamber on 9 September and the final vote scheduled for 15 September). And to think that Senate President Ignazio La Russa’s decision to rule the amendment on ‘dragnet wiretaps’ inadmissible during the scrutiny of the Justice and Immigration Decree was intended precisely to defuse these tensions within the majority. Meanwhile, Tajani is trying to take his mind off the internal chaos by presenting the programme for the FI Youth festival ‘Azzurra libertà’ and promising a ‘sparkling election campaign’.

This is the situation at parliamentary level. But even at organisational level across the various regions, there is little sign of reconciliation amongst Forza Italia members. The candidacy of the Martusciello-Silvestro ticket (both of whom are involved in legal proceedings) at the Campania regional congress scheduled for 9 September is causing considerable concern. So much so that several Campania MPs have sent a letter to the national leadership. And they are reportedly intending to put forward an alternative candidacy. This would be something of a rarity, given that all the congresses currently being held are merely serving to confirm and ratify the outgoing secretaries (as happened last weekend in Tuscany, with Marco Stella’s predictable and uncontested victory). Meanwhile, there are regions such as Basilicata (as reported yesterday by "Il Fatto") where the congress is constantly being postponed, partly because Minister Casellati does not wish to relinquish, for the time being, her role as regional coordinator. Especially without any guarantee that she will be placed at the top of the list in her home region of Veneto. Or take Piedmont, where an increasingly marked rift is emerging between the positions of Zangrillo, who would like to hold the party conference, and those of President Cirio, who – according to internal dissidents – has recently moved closer to Tajani, despite maintaining good relations with the Berlusconi family. Ultimately, the event is expected to take place in September or, in any case, after the summer. By then, who knows, the rift over the candidate list may have been mended. Or perhaps it will only have deepened.