Draghi is back. Conte’s thoughts: “There are those who meet him and dream of him at the Colle.” It’s the wild card in the stalemate

Connect the dots: Draghi is back. If the election ends in a dead heat, he could become Prime Minister, but if the centre-left wins, then Schlein … Listen to Giuseppe Conte, who has a nose for these things: “I hear that someone is meeting Draghi, I hear there’s a strange buzz around certain figures… I hear things.” And what do you hear, Mr President? “I hear there are those who are always dreaming of the Colle.” Pay attention: Grillo is using Draghi against Conte, and Conte is criticising Grillo for having called “Draghi a Grillo supporter”. When Goffredo Bettini read that Draghi had met Schlein, he sensed a very strong whiff of power and asked: “But is it true that Schlein promised him the Colle?” A mountain dweller calls us from the Dolomites (the ‘Fogliante’ version of Mauro Corona, who imagines a programme with Alessandra Sardoni from La7) and reveals: “I heard Professor Giavazzi say: ‘Everyone’s afraid that Draghi might return and set his sights on the Colle’. They’re waiting for a sign from him.” Get your diaries out.

When you don’t know what the future holds, you must always turn to the soothsayers. Let’s go and see Giulio Tremonti and whisper this in his ear: Professor, we’re told that Draghi might return; we’re even told that some people imagine him back at the Quirinale. Professor, have you heard? “I’ve also heard certain concerns from the left. It’s a strange time; we don’t know which electoral law we’ll be voting under – in short, we know nothing – and sometimes certain issues come back into the spotlight. It’s a bit like pizzas. I remember that when I was a child, the ‘Four Seasons’ was all the rage. There are issues and figures that are a bit like the ‘Four Seasons’: it’s still on the menu but nobody orders it anymore.” Paranoia or fantasy? That’s how it starts. Schlein meets Draghi, then gives an interview to Il Foglio; Marina Berlusconi isn’t keen on the new electoral law and thinks the Draghi government was the best possible experience… Add to that the fact that Tajani slipped up with his remark about the ‘arrogant fascists in Rome’, and everyone realised he was referring to FdI. Giovanni Donzelli, who’s had a haircut, in true ‘little brother of Italy’ style, forgives him: “Me, arrogant? Have you seen me? I’m sure Tajani wasn’t referring to us.” Oh, really? The rumour mill within the majority is such that FdI confirms: “Right now, Tajani has more problems than Salvini. And that says it all.” In recent years there has been a truce: FdI wasn’t opening its doors to those leaving the League or Forza Italia, but now that truce is about to break down. Fabrizio Sala, one of Tajani’s MPs, is reportedly being courted by FdI: the doors are open. To be on the safe side, everything is being postponed: the deadline for the electoral law and the NRRP are being pushed back, and this postponement gives people time to think. And that’s Draghi for you.

Grillo, who had been in hibernation, wakes up and attacks Conte. And what does he choose to do? He skilfully takes a clip of a speech by Conte dating back to the ‘Quirinarie’ and twists it out of shape. He makes Conte look like a Draghi supporter (the very man who brought down Draghi) and puts together a video in which he declares: ‘The Movement says yes to Draghi. In fact, it reinforces its yes’. It’s a pity that in that video, Conte actually wanted Draghi at Chigi because Draghi was about to head to the Colle. The deep-seated belief among Conte’s ‘children’ (remember his fans?) is that someone is stirring up Grillo to put the M5S leader in a tight spot. These are clearly thoughts as rotten as August, but it’s also news. Two days ago, Di Maio turned up in the Chamber of Deputies yet again, and at that point those on the left were asking themselves: “Why does Di Maio come to Rome so often? Why?” Who is the other major player behind the scenes in recent weeks? It’s Matteo Renzi, who has always spoken of “Draghi” as his masterpiece: “It was I who brought Draghi to you.” On the right, who is Draghi’s other close ally who currently holds the reins of the budget deviation, which is due to be presented to the Chamber of Deputies on 5 August? It’s Giorgetti, a man who, with Draghi, could form at least another four governments. Then there’s Schlein, who has finally got the hang of the game. Ever since she met the former prime minister, the mountains have been smiling down on her and even the Draghis are waving hello. Paranoia? Probably, but in August (and, truth be told, throughout the rest of the year too) politics is eighty per cent smoke and mirrors, ten per cent the Berlusconi family – not tomorrow, but the day after… another five per cent is Salvini, who won’t make it to Pontida, and the final five per cent, the most genuine: no one knows how to get to their holidays. Draghi’s return is, in the end, the most credible thing, just like Settimana Enigistica and its game: the coded clue. Waiter? A ‘Four Seasons’…