In Milan, there is a Democratic Party drama over Calabresi, but everyone is speaking out except the secretary.

Rome. On the evening of 3 September in Milan, outgoing centre-left Mayor Beppe Sala and the Democratic Party’s Senate group leader and Schleinian plenipotentiary Francesco Boccia gathered under the marquee of the Arci Corvetto club, with a humid 35 degrees outside and a pink banner intended to shed a ray of positivity on the somewhat troubled spirits of the Milanese PD and others: “It’s time for joyful passions”. And whose, the local Democrats wonder, perplexed, having gathered for the festival’s opening precisely at a time when the departure of former La Repubblica editor Mario Calabresi from the corporate structure of Chora and Will Media has accelerated matters where Secretary Elly Schlein had previously put the brakes on – Schlein, who was notably absent from the Milanese event (out of sight, out of mind). “It’s too early,” Elly had in fact said a few days ago. Too early to tackle the thorny issue of the candidate for mayor of Milan in the post-Beppe Sala era. And yet he, Calabresi – the highly likely and imminent self-nominated candidate – will be at the local Festa dell’Unità on the 12th, in conversation with Don Ciotti. Meanwhile, they (Sala and Boccia) found themselves facing the elephant in the room on the evening of the 3rd: what to do? And above all: what to say whilst she (Schlein) remains silent? Meanwhile, whether on social media or in person, others are speaking out – the many who have declared themselves willing to stand in the primaries, despite the silence of the man who seemed to be Schlein’s number one ideal candidate, the Democratic Party regional councillor Pierfrancesco Majorino, whose path has now been blocked by Calabresi, who has immediately received the backing of the centrists Carlo Calenda and Pina Picierno. Deputy Mayor Anna Scavuzzo speaks, as does Carlotta Cossutta, while at the party the onlookers munch on salamelle, and the young, staunchly left-wing Democratic Party councillor for Municipality 1, Lorenzo Pacini, speaks – after a summer spent handing out watermelons to the heat-stricken and the less well-off, and on the eve of the publication of a book – his own – whose title says it all: ‘Una cosa di sinistra-Come far tornare alla politica chi non ci crede più’ (published by Ponte alle Grazie, in bookshops from the 18th). It is an essay, but it is already a manifesto too (it is no secret, in fact, that Pacini, beyond a possible victory for Calabresi – of whom, according to a Milanese Democrat, ‘è improbabile che possa fare l’assessore’ – harbours national ambitions). No sooner said than done: in the book, Pacini warns that “in Italy there is only one emergency, the social one”, that “security, migrant landings and the Maranza” are merely “distractions” and that “billionaires are not a model to follow, but the enemy”. At that point, the question arises: but if Calabresi wins, will Pacini work with such a moderate? “First, let’s hold the primaries,” Pacini tells Il Foglio, “first, let’s find a way to bring down the cost of living for the people of Milan with bold left-wing proposals; then comes everything else. We don’t make deals before the vote; we engage in politics and build collective action through the power of ideas for the city.”

So Schlein has not yet made her move, following Calabresi’s ‘knight’s move’ – which in Milan is seen as heavily inspired by the team of former ‘Orange’ figures, the civic and post-socialist left that secured victory for Giuliano Pisapia in 2011, from the then Chief of Staff Maurizio Baruffi downwards. Schlein has yet to make an appearance, whilst, in the shadows, Majorino is gearing up to make his official announcement (by a twist of fate – or perhaps a stroke of luck – he too is a former councillor under Pisapia) and whilst the Nazareno faction grumbles (along the lines of: could the reformist minority be involved?). Meanwhile, under the Arci marquee, Sala and Boccia take to the stage. The former no longer even seems like Sala (perhaps also with a view to the future that awaits him in the next national Parliament): he praises Schlein, says he would vote for her in the event of national primaries, and rises to the heights of a previously unthinkable idea: he is ready to join the PD. The trickiest part falls to Boccia: when asked directly about the primaries, he must say everything and yet nothing – namely, that primaries are part of the PD’s DNA (though whilst describing the PD as the leading party on the centre-left), and that first ‘comes the shared programme’ and then, ‘in a minute’, a leader will be found (Conte isn’t listening, fortunately). And Milan? Well, if a single candidate cannot be found, then all expressions of interest are welcome, including Calabresi’s. A Calabresi over whom hangs – as reported in La Repubblica – the warning from architect Stefano Boeri, a former primary candidate in Pisapia’s day: “I crashed and burned there. Be careful, the PD can be a many-headed beast.”