Renzi calls for unity – but not for everyone – in the centre; does it really seem so ‘equal’?

Rome. The problem was already there, but the Homeric ‘Leopolda’ that Italia Viva leader Matteo Renzi has just concluded in Florence brings it back into sharp focus: what will the many and varied groups dotting the centre of the centre-left do, whilst the former prime minister calls them to his side (“come to us”, and the invitation is extended both within and outside the broad coalition)? The responses, for the moment, do not all point in the direction Renzi hopes for – one which, as far as the electoral lists are concerned, is heading towards a structure where 50 per cent of the seats go to Italia Viva and 50 per cent to Casa Riformista, an umbrella organisation designed precisely for centrists wishing to join forces, with the aim of clearing the electoral threshold and going beyond it (a detail of no small importance: Renzi does not have to collect signatures). But, the other parties are asking themselves: will the conditions of ‘equal standing’ to which Renzi alludes truly amount to genuine parity? Take Riccardo Magi, the secretary of Più Europa, who has been on hunger strike for six days in protest against what he calls an “undemocratic electoral law that transforms a minority into an overwhelming majority within Parliament”, whilst also introducing “a barrier to electoral competition: 450,000 signatures for new parties – and this does not apply to us”. So what does Magi – who had evoked the idea of equal dignity in an interview with La Repubblica, without ruling out the possibility of a “united list even with Renzi, provided he is loyal” – have to say in the wake of the Leopolda conference where Renzi made his offer? “Renzi alludes to ‘equal dignity, yes’,” Magi tells Il Foglio, “but I believe that equal dignity means not going somewhere as a guest, with someone else deciding even what your name and symbol should be. Moreover, having to tell someone what name you should run under and what symbol to use can be counterproductive from the point of view of winning votes and putting forward a political programme.” Magi nevertheless assures us that he wants to “work to unite and bring people together”. But the question is: how? Take Progetto Civico Italia, where the leader and councillor in Roberto Gualtieri’s administration, Alessandro Onorato, does not seem inclined to come under Renzi’s umbrella. Quite the contrary. And certainly not after days of remote controversy, culminating in Renzi’s decision to field Pietro Bartolo as a candidate for the presidency of the Sicilian Region, whilst Progetto Civico is backing Ismaele La Vardera on the island – formerly the face of the Controcorrente movement. In short, Onorato, who a few days ago told this newspaper that he did not wish to “fuell the ‘Vianello effect’” at the heart of the centre-left, reiterates: “We do not want to fuel arguments and divisions; we are working to strengthen the centre-left and win the elections.” What is the roadmap? “We have twenty proposals for an economic plan for Italy, which we will present from 23 to 25 October at the Progetto Civico Italia general assembly,” says Onorato. The issue of signatures remains. “There will be developments; we will be standing in the general election.” On the ‘Più Uno’ front – the forthcoming party (to be launched on Saturday 10th) led by former Director of the Revenue Agency Ernesto Ruffini, now joined by Prefect Franco Gabrielli – there are no signs of fresh momentum, following the Leopolda conference, regarding convergence in the centre. However, Ruffini had said he did not view the union of centrist forces as an “inevitable choice”, believing that “an effective political alliance” does not necessarily arise from a mere “arithmetical sum” of parties. Former minister Vincenzo Spadafora, on the other hand, through his association Primavera, has long appeared to favour the idea of a centrist federation, and proposes “a Constituent Assembly that is not merely a collection of small parties, but a genuine project involving all those centre-left voters who do not identify with the PD or the M5S”. From the PSI, Enzo Maraio looks back on the Leopolda conference and says: “Many good ideas and several thought-provoking suggestions came out of Florence. Strengthening and organising a reformist and modernising bloc is an opportunity for the entire centre-left. But to succeed, we must overcome personal agendas and the temptation to annex others, placing the reasons for unity, the ideas and the tasks at hand at the centre. This is not the time for cunning manoeuvres, for adding up political acronyms or for imposing leadership: it is time to build together a new, broad and credible political space”. And yet, once again, what about the signatures? “For us socialists,” says Maraio, “faced with an electoral law that contains aspects about which we have expressed strong concerns, an intervention by the President of the Republic would be invaluable”. Meanwhile, the bill is up for a vote today (there is no certainty as to what will happen tomorrow).