The Calenda–Onorato clash: the centre the PD would like to see and the centre the PD actually has

For months, the clash between Alessandro Onorato and Carlo Calenda remained a low-intensity skirmish. For about a week now, it has taken on a different form: a small-scale communications offensive through which Onorato is seeking to establish himself as the ‘centre of the broad coalition’, where Schlein and Conte’s coalition can find the moderates it lacks without having to go via Calenda. Within the broad coalition, the Rome city councillor must contend with Renzi, while outside the coalition his other opponent is none other than the leader of Azione – the party that many, even within the PD, would like to see in the broad coalition as its most solid centrist pillar.

The basic narrative emerged in the early summer months: on 12 June, Onorato presented the Civic Project, and shortly afterwards the skirmishes began: “Calenda? Anyone who votes for him is doing Meloni a favour,” said the Rome city councillor responsible for major events. Then, in mid-August, in Corriere della Sera, a personal remark: Calenda was said to be angry with him because Gualtieri’s civic list had denied him a run-off in Rome. On 5 and 6 September came the Sicilian leg: at the Controcorrente General Assembly in Agrigento, La Vardera’s movement joined Progetto Civico and Onorato, from the stage, urged Calenda not to waste his energy, because “there are no three ways”.

Finally, on 28 September, on Un giorno da pecora, the attack on Ukraine – a point of division that also involves the broader coalition from within: the most that Calenda, who is in favour of sending weapons to Kyiv, would have defended is “the moped in Piazza Euclide”. The retort: “I’d suggest Onorato stay in his comfort zone; he’s the organiser of Bettini’s events and minor parties, so let him stick to concerts, flowerbeds and golf tournaments.” On the same day, Onorato claimed that Progetto Civico would “easily” exceed 3 per cent and that Calenda was spreading fake news, adding that voting for him would help Meloni. In Azione, they brush it off as follows: “Voting for Onorato, on the other hand, helps Bettini and the left wing of the PD.”