Tajani’s ‘purges’. He warns the FI minority (and Marina B). And he secures his position with party membership cards

He cites Fulvio Martusciello as a model of leadership and a guiding light, and criticises those who “go to the press to make controversial statements. That’s not how you win”. Above all, he dismisses criticism of the party conference season with a stroke of the pen, arguing that “if we are in favour of meritocracy in the country, we must also be so within the party”. The Berlusconi family was undoubtedly in the crosshairs of the speech delivered by Antonio Tajani at the close of ‘Azzurra libertà’, the Forza Italia youth convention in Montesilvano, as he stated: “I do not believe in a party with a leadership imposed from above”. Above all, however, there was a warning, an admonition, directed at the first ‘dissenting’ voices that have begun to emerge amongst the ‘Azzurri’. The reference to “statements in the press” was no coincidence, as Tajani was aiming primarily at Minister Paolo Zangrillo and Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Giorgio Mulè, who had expressed growing discontent in interviews with Il Foglio.

This is also why, to those who had accused him of turning Forza Italia into a party of membership cards, the Deputy Prime Minister remarked: “Membership is a great sign of belonging. It signals a great desire to win.” Tajani had long pondered what the right occasion would be to “send a signal”. He did so at the end of a very heated summer for Forza Italia. This was a period in which internal disputes had mounted up. The regional congresses proceeded with ratification-only procedures; the one in Campania, which saw Martusciello crowned leader, has just taken place and, according to a group of MPs from the region, will be followed by legal disputes in court. In short, the gist of his speech is being interpreted by many as: ‘he doesn’t want to change a thing’. What is certain is that, in Tajani’s view, the season of regional congresses is set to continue. Indeed, the regional congress in Lazio is due to take place on 26 and 27 September. There too, the election of the outgoing regional coordinator, Senator Claudio Fazzone, as secretary will be a mere formality. He, like the Foreign Minister, hails from the Ciociaria region. A few days earlier, on 19 September, following Minister Casellati’s interim leadership, Forza Italia Basilicata will officially pass into the hands of the regional president, Vito Bardi. It is a slow and gradual consolidation of Tajani’s political landscape, with the secretary aiming to reach the next congress (scheduled to take place after the general election) with virtually only loyalists in the various regions. And in Piedmont? There, the coordinator is none other than Minister Zangrillo. Perhaps partly due to the criticism over the summer, the situation has remained at a standstill, not least at the behest of President Alberto Cirio, who is now increasingly aligned with the national secretariat’s positions. So much so that it had been suggested it might take place in September, but in all likelihood it will be postponed until at least October, if not later. Also in Montesilvano, on this subject, Tajani returned to the campaign for reducing bureaucracy – the announcement of which, made without his involvement, had greatly annoyed the Minister for the Public Administration (a plan that has remained a dead letter) – adding that “the work of Zangrillo and Casellati has been commendable, but more needs to be done”.

There is also a further ‘contentious’ passage in Tajani’s speech, which the ‘Azzurri’ interpreted as yet another challenge to the Berlusconi family. ‘Becoming an MP must not become the goal of those involved in politics,’ said the secretary in Abruzzo. And to some, this seemed like a direct reference to the candidacy of Fabio Roscioli – the Berlusconi family’s long-standing lawyer and treasurer of Forza Italia – in the by-elections in Calabria. The decision was made by the regional president, Roberto Occhiuto, who is considered the real link to the Royal House within the Forza Italia sphere. Similarly, the fact that Marina Berlusconi herself was mentioned only once, towards the end of the opening address (incidentally, the debate between the two – which was due to take place when parliamentary sessions resumed after the summer recess – continues to be postponed). It is almost as though the outcome of the elections on 27 and 28 September in Reggio Calabria – jeopardised by the candidacy of former Forza Italia group leader Domenico Giannetta, now running for Vannacci – could serve as a means of disavowing the stance of certain internal opponents, should that election go badly.