Conte distances himself from Bettini on Ukraine and says the PD wants primaries: "They said no to a third candidate"

“I stated right from the start that I was willing to agree on a third candidate, as an alternative to the leaders,” but “there was no willingness to consider this option. And so we are now facing a leadership contest.” This was stated by the leader of the Five Star Movement, Giuseppe Conte, at the launch of David Tozzo’s book "La Principessa. Potere della politica, possibilità dell’impossibile". In essence, according to the former prime minister, it is the allies’ fault that the primaries are an inevitable path: “Before my community, I wish to demonstrate that I have explored every avenue in an attempt to achieve the greatest possible harmony,” he said today. Had it been up to him, however, a unifying figure could have been found. And so Conte also sketches out a profile: not ‘just any name’, but a name that ‘must guarantee a change in policy’. We cannot ‘find a bland figure, but someone who knows how to interpret this historic moment’. Someone who is ‘competitive’, he adds. The PD are making no secret of their astonishment. "Has he proposed a third candidate? But how can that be, when he was the one who proposed the primaries after the referendum?", says Antonio Misiani, a PD senator and head of the party’s economic affairs committee, as quoted by Il Foglio.

Already yesterday, MP Vittoria Baldino had paved the way for the ‘third man’ scenario, proposing Pier Luigi Bersani as the unifying figure for the broad coalition. Today Conte clarifies: ‘I do not rely on personal ambition’. But barring any change of heart, the die is cast and he himself warns: ‘The primaries are looming’. 

And so, the never-ending debate on the primaries continues. A debate that many have already deemed harmful to the coalition, even before the race has begun. “Divisive? That will depend on us,” Conte said during the event in the Senate. Tomorrow, Elly Schlein will chair the Democratic Party’s executive committee (the party assembly is on 18 October), and it will in all likelihood become clear whether the “party” will ultimately field just one candidate, Elly, or whether the reformist wing will put forward Giorgio Gori. “It is up to us to create a climate of harmony,” Conte added.

During the book launch, the former prime minister once again spoke about Ukraine, reiterating his party’s position. This time, however, his remarks were accompanied by a new element. The ‘no’ also applies to the proposal put forward by Goffredo Bettini, who has long been close to Conte and for whom he has the utmost respect (so much so that he asked Schlein for an ‘act of generosity’ and to leave the leadership of the broad coalition to him). In a letter to Corriere, Bettini had proposed continuing to supply weapons to Kyiv, even if only for defensive purposes. On this proposal, the former prime minister explains: “You cannot signal a change of course whilst continuing to send weapons as usual.” This position is also shared by the other wing of the broad coalition, the Green and Left Alliance.

The former prime minister then continues: “Bettini always deserves credit for setting out wide-ranging arguments that take historical reasons into account, and he never trivialises the Russian-Ukrainian conflict either. The band of eager volunteers wants to continue bearing arms and, if anything, rather cowardly, carry on waging a proxy war. We believe there needs to be a turning point.” He explains that, in his view, “even the public are calling for a shift towards negotiations in the conflict”. On this issue, Filippo Sensi of the PD commented on social media: “I read that our scholars, doctors and experts are racking their brains to find the most hypocritical formula possible to convince Vannacci’s closest allies on the issue of Ukraine. Call them Eugenio, we’ll give them to you.”