The Renzi–Onorato row has now spread to Sicily. The former prime minister is backing Bartolo for governor

The Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement, the two leading parties in the progressive coalition, have yet to field a candidate for the regional elections in Sicily. The centre, which is also divided on the island, already has two. From the stage at the Leopolda, Matteo Renzi put forward Pietro Bartolo, the doctor from Lampedusa and former Democratic Party MEP who left the PD in December to join Casa Riformista. On the other side is Ismaele La Vardera, the candidate for Progetto Civico, the party led by Alessandro Onorato into which his Controcorrente movement has merged. This signals that the clash between Renzi and Onorato is now spilling over into Sicily: by the very nature of things, the two should be running together; instead, at national level they are vying for the ‘broad centre’ and now, on the island, the contest is heating up ahead of the regional elections. La Vardera is hugely popular in Sicily: the polls place him at the top of the list of potential candidates in the preferences of Sicilians. However, he does not have a structured party behind him. Hence the agreement with Onorato. La Vardera is bringing his votes to ‘Progetto Civico’ for the general election, hoping it will become the centre of the broad coalition in place of Renzi’s ‘Casa Riformista’; in return, he hopes for the support of the movement’s key backers: the Democrats close to Goffredo Bettini and, above all, Giuseppe Conte’s M5S, which in the past fielded another former ‘Iena’ and close friend of La Vardera, Dino Giarrusso, as a candidate in the European elections; Giarrusso founded ‘Controcorrente’ with him after leaving ‘Sud chiama Nord’, the party led by the former mayor of Messina, Cateno De Luca.

It is clear to everyone that this is a move directed against the former Prime Minister and leader of IV, who, as was to be expected, is fighting back. “Bartolo? We’ll be more than happy to support him” for the presidency of the Region, said Renzi right at the end of the Leopolda conference. The former MEP and doctor from Lampedusa served for years in the European Parliament alongside the young Elly Schlein, now secretary of the PD, with whom, it is said, he had – and still has – a good relationship. In short, Renzi’s move seems anything but coincidental. Upon hearing the news of Bartolo’s candidacy, La Vardera responded politely yet firmly: “I wish him a successful election campaign; he is a decent and respected person.”

The two parties, after all, are notoriously at loggerheads, and the rift lies entirely within the broad coalition. Initially, it was Onorato who did not want Renzi in the coalition: “It’s an impossible agreement,” he had said. Then the leader of Italia Viva himself began attacking Onorato, describing Progetto Civico as a “decoy list”. Then, on the subject of the electoral law, he dismissed the protest against the requirement to collect signatures: “Anyone who thinks they lack the strength is free to complain,” he said, whilst Onorato took to the streets in front of the Senate alongside Conte. Davide Faraone, a Palermo MP for Italia Viva (formerly of the PD), then explained that with Ingroia, La Vardera and Giarrusso on board, Onorato’s group “is no longer a reformist force”. Onorato, for his part, described Renzi’s track record as “full of divisions and missed opportunities”.

The most logical solution would be for the centrists and reformists to join forces in a coalition. However, Renzi and his supporters – as we explained earlier, and not without good reason – view the Onorato manoeuvre as a hostile move, beneficial to the Five Star Movement and a section of the PD in keeping him out of the broad coalition. Progetto Civico is indeed useful to Conte: it gives him a centrist wing of his own, independent of the Democrats. It is no coincidence that the leader of the M5S is La Vardera’s main backer.

This is why the race for the fourth pillar of the broad coalition is shifting to Sicily, where Progetto Civico is aiming for the regional presidency following Schifani’s departure and where the island is becoming the first testing ground for the clash between Renzi and the Roman councillor. Renzi knows he can position himself well in this opening: with Bartolo, he is fielding a respectable and well-regarded figure in Sicily, with a track record that works – a former PD MEP with links to Elly Schlein – whilst the PD and the M5S are still sitting on the fence.

Meanwhile, yesterday at the Festa dell’Unità in Palermo, the various forces within the broad Sicilian political coalition came together ahead of both the local elections in the regional capital and the regional elections. Among them was Valeria Ajolavasit, from the city coordination group of IV-Casa Riformista: “Renzi has put forward an idea, a proposal, as many others are currently doing. Bartolo’s name is an important one for this region, given the work he has done in the past. The method for selecting the candidate has not yet been finalised, but the important thing is to speed things up,” she said.