Meloni furious with La Russa over preference votes. The chain of errors

It’s raining, ‘thieving’ preferences. Meloni opens her umbrella before slipping on Boccia’s sub-amendment: extended preferences. It is rejected (99 in favour and 68 against). The government, which is reinstating preferences after thirty-five years, comes across as the one that rejected them. It is a communications disaster. Meloni has to step in and explain: “Preferential votes are back because FdI introduced them.” It is the result of fear, a chain of errors and the unbridled democratic freedom of Ignazio La Russa, who points out: “I am the President of the Senate; I have my own autonomy.” Meloni feels she is to blame, and reports it furiously because “there is much to be said about the origins of this day…”. Marco Lisei, the FdI senator, says that “we strayed from the beaten track. We shouldn’t have tabled a sub-amendment”. The black swan of this story is La Russa – ‘I couldn’t care less!’

Parliament has approved the cinema bill drafted by Schlein, and in the Senate the cry will be “We want preferential votes”. More cinema. Vannacci calls on Meloni “to show some backbone”, Senator Maiorino of the M5S speaks of “guts”, whilst Renzi mimics Meloni, and in turn there is Gasparri mimicking Renzi mimicking Meloni. While in the Senate, where voting is by open ballot, there is a risk of a row, in the Chamber of Deputies, where the vote will be secret, a proportional vote based on conscience is expected. Giovanni Donzelli, if only to rile the opposition and to prevent Vannacci – that scum of the earth – from lecturing anyone, hints that a vote may take place. It is a trap, a cunning ploy by Boccia, Paita and Patuanelli (Avs does not want the preferences), and, to be perfectly honest, if the sub-amendment had gone through, it would have been the women and Schlein who would have borne the brunt of it. Within the PD, who holds the preferences? The reformists do: the Guerinis, the Decaros, the Bonaccinis, the Goris – the other party. In the European elections, Schlein – who also stood as a candidate in the islands and in central Italy – secured 200,000 preferential votes, but as secretary of the PD. It is only the fear of Vannacci that is causing the right to stumble into this September quagmire. As Michele Barcaiuolo, FdI coordinator for Emilia-Romagna, put it: “Forgive me, gentlemen, but until proven otherwise, after thirty years, we’re the ones who decide the preferences.”

Meloni wrote this in the evening: “To the left, which today claims that this is not enough, I must point out that those who have never supported these measures over the past 35 years – and who voted to reject them as recently as a month ago – lack credibility on this issue.” Boccia was skilful, and it’s clear he knows Meloni well and realises that to get under her skin, he needs to use the word ‘consistency’ – it’s just that Tajani and Salvini have more pressing issues. Tajani is in São Paulo, Brazil, and Salvini doesn’t want to hear a word about electoral law. The Lega’s political line has recently been set by comrade Francesca Verdini, Evita Verdon – a woman of serious academic standing, the ‘Normale Verdini’ of Pisa. Max Romeo, who is still the Lega’s parliamentary group leader – another ‘hidalgo’ whose days are numbered – states that “we will not vote for the sub-amendment, nor will Forza Italia”. The bridge is Meloni–Donzelli–Gasparri–Benigni–Craxi, with Meloni’s promise that “we will honour the agreements”, but only after no fewer than three suspensions of the sitting, a flurry of phone calls and Meloni’s annoyance because “I’m the one who restores the preferences – and now it’s being suggested that I take them away? Inconceivable”. The mistake is said to have occurred in committee, once the Lisei amendment had been tabled, causing the opposition’s amendments to lapse in turn. Boccia, Paita and Pirondini, the group leaders of the PD, M5S and IV, protested not only to La Russa. They highlighted a certain complicity on the part of the Senate’s administrative offices, and La Russa could not allow the integrity of his officials to be called into question. He assured everyone that a sub-amendment could be tabled. It was summer. The impact on public perception was underestimated, as was Vannacci, who had already that morning “called on the entire right” to vote for it. Vannacci has no senators and can cause as much trouble as he likes, just as Renzi can, who took the floor to address Meloni: “Don’t let Tajani and Salvini intimidate you, not least because you’re the only living soul who lets Tajani and Salvini intimidate you.” Boccia, too, plays on pride: “For Meloni, consistency is a way of life. Is she backing down? It was her majority that blocked our amendments in committee. They’re the ones who made the mistake.” The right is looking for someone to blame. Andrea De Priamo, the chair of the Constitutional Affairs Committee, who replaced Balboni, is hounded: “I must reply to the minister, excuse me.” Maurizio Gasparri, who sleeps perhaps two hours a night, limits himself to saying, “Agreements must be honoured and must remain so.” His final intervention brings the group together. Minister Casellati defers to the will of the Chamber, while within FdI there is talk of freedom of conscience – which, in FdI terms, translates as ‘freedom means voting no’. The government does not vote with the opposition and now finds itself having to face criticism from the Quirinale as well.

The electoral law known as ‘Stabilucum’ keeps being amended to such an extent that it would be better named ‘Modificabilum’. It thus transpires that the threshold for fringe parties is being lowered whilst the number of signatures required for those wishing to stand for election is being raised. It seems as though the world is about to end, the government is on the brink of collapse, and we’re heading for an election in January. Only Daniela Santanché, who has weathered numerous crises, restores calm with “What’s going on? Nothing”. In Naples they use the word “ammuina”, in Palermo “annacarsi”, and then there is the ever-present Boccia who, in Bari – and perhaps even in Garbatella – sums it up by saying “the majority can’t keep up”. Renzi, the bard, foretells “that they’ll try to see it through to the end, hoping the war in Ukraine will end and that the economy will bounce back”. At the moment, only interest rates have risen, and Giorgetti comments: “It’s no surprise; unfortunately, it was an expected decision. Since the cause of rising inflation is energy prices rather than ‘cooling it down by raising rates, we need to stop the wars’. Both Giorgetti and Meloni are betting on the future. They’re buying time, hoping they won’t have to pay for Vannacci’s preferences in roubles.