Primaries are not intended to gauge the popularity of party leaders

In 2018, the coalition government between the M5S and the Lega was led by Giuseppe Conte, who had not even stood as a parliamentary candidate for the M5S. The story, however, is even more complicated on the left. As the leading party was the post-communist party – at the time the PDS – which was therefore deemed incapable of leading a winning coalition, in the 1996 elections the role of Prime Ministerial candidate, Prodi, was separated from that of the PDS secretary, D’Alema. In doing so, however, an inevitable power struggle ensued, in which the secretary of the leading party wanted to become Prime Minister sooner or later (which he achieved halfway through the parliamentary term), whilst the Prime Minister wanted to create his own party (the Democrats) with which to return to the leadership.

The issue arose again at the time of the 2001 elections, when it was Rutelli, leader of the Margherita electoral coalition, who challenged Berlusconi rather than Fassino, leader of the DS, even though the latter was the larger party. In 2006, as the PD did not yet exist, and in order to avoid the risk of a return to the rifts of 1996, the DS and the Margherita agreed with Prodi that he would be nominated through open primaries in which both parties would support him. The failure of the Unione then led to the establishment of the PD being seen as the remedy: a party with a majority-voting orientation capable of managing any potential alliances. For this reason, the PD’s Statute sought to achieve that objective through open primaries for its secretary, as he was also, as a rule, to be the candidate for Prime Minister.

The election method was consistent with that dual role. However, as the Statute could not foresee future relations between the party and the coalition, it also allowed for the possibility of coalition primaries. By 2012, Bersani, secretary of the PD nearing the end of his term, decided not to seek re-election via a PD congress, but to use this second mechanism instead. Knowing, however, that the main existing alternative was Renzi, a member of the PD, he sought to introduce an element of flexibility by opening the primary to other PD candidates as well; and he did not do this merely as a one-off measure, but by amending the Statute and making this openness a permanent feature. Given this complex history, it remains unclear why the current PD secretary prefers a closed approach, framing the coalition primaries as a contest among party secretaries rather than among various coalition members.

To argue that, since the criterion of the party leadership being the one that comes first at the polls is not accepted, we must bring forward the proportional representation stage of the general election with primaries featuring candidates hand-picked by party secretaries does not seem to be an idea that is either brilliant or inspiring. Therefore, it is proposed that we shake off these insular, sleepy visions and return to the 2012 model—a two-round system with open nominations not limited to party secretaries. The PD’s openness toward its most active voters has always been a key factor in the success of those who have championed it.