The spectre of Di Battista: polls at 3.5 per cent. His summer of activism

Is it just a summer scare? The political fetishists’ game of Burraco, the Transatlantico’s puzzle page? Or is there something more concrete? As we await September, the political spectrum is racking its brains. People are looking for a sign that might at least hint at an answer: will Alessandro Di Battista finally launch his movement? Does the former Five Star Movement member seriously risk becoming, in the upcoming general election, the thorn in the side that General Vannacci has become for the centre-right? Or is it all just a figment of the imagination? He – ‘Dibba’, the Che Guevara of Corso Francia – after explaining a few weeks ago that ‘yes’, he’s seriously considering it, has remained as silent as a fish. Meanwhile, he’s criss-crossing Italy to present his monologue "Scomode verità", taking to stages across the entire country. Two days ago, for instance, he was in Abruzzo, at the Pescasseroli tech centre. Tomorrow, however, he’ll be in Piano di Sorrento to present one of his latest literary works, “La Russia non è il mio nemico”, published by Paper First. Meanwhile, for *Il Fatto Quotidiano*, he continues to devote himself to reportage. His latest piece, published just a few days ago, came from Albania. Not to report on the repatriation centres pushed for by Meloni, but on the protests by Albanians against the resort that Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, wants to build.

The reports, as we were saying, are produced for Travaglio’s newspaper; the programme is produced by Loft, a production company owned by SEIF, the company that also publishes Il Fatto; the book is published by Paper First, which is SEIF’s publishing house. In short, many doubt that Dibba – whose career as a reporter, writer and conscience-stirrer is so closely linked to the Il Fatto sphere – could go against Travaglio’s line, which, as is well known, supports open primaries across the broad political spectrum amongst political figures who, mind you, must remain clearly distinct. Hoping, too, for a victory for Giuseppe Conte and the ‘stop arms to Kyiv’ line, now, at this stage, with Dibba’s support as well. A line that has galvanised even a staunch critic such as the former mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi. It is therefore inevitable that there are those who, with a certain streak of conspiracy theory, see this whole alleged manoeuvre by Dibba’s party as a smokescreen designed, on the one hand, to keep the most rebellious of the former Five Star Movement members in check, and, on the other, to placate those within the PD who are most intolerant of the former Five Star Movement prime minister’s outbursts.

But unlike former mayor Raggi, who dreams of a seat in Parliament for herself, Dibba has greater ambitions and potential. This is partly thanks to the legal and media offensive that Grillo has decided to launch against Conte over the party symbol. If he were to step out of the role of reporter and slip back into that of a people’s leader, he would have a whole different level of influence. And so the question remains: what will he do? Pollsters have already begun to assess the electoral clout of a movement which, for now, is as insubstantial as a ghost. According to a poll conducted on 1 August by Mannheimer for La 7, even before its official launch, Dibba’s Movement is already polling at 3.5 per cent. And indeed, a few weeks ago, he was celebrating the 370,000 signatures collected for the referendum against public funding for newspapers. Not enough to push through a clearly illegitimate referendum question, but sufficient to show that his followers certainly carry some weight. “We will press ahead,” he said. Without specifying exactly what this “ahead” entails. Whilst waiting for Dibba, his supporters – from former minister Barbara Lezzi to former Five Star Movement group leader Alessio Villarosa, right through to the anti-Conti Apulian Antonella Laricchia – are hoping for an electoral adventure.