Renzi’s sights set on Forza Italia, from Emilia to Tuscany (and Campania)

For now, these are local developments, not a drive to poach MPs. But it is telling that the first defections from Forza Italia to Italia Viva came just a few hours after Matteo Renzi’s appeal to Forza Italia members at the Leopolda: “Come with us. You cannot stand with those who reject Europe”. Yesterday, Piergiulio Giacobazzi, FI’s coordinator in the province of Modena and a local councillor, announced his departure from the party in protest at the party conference process, which he felt lacked genuine competition. Above all, however, he alluded to a “mass exodus; other councillors in the Modena area will also be leaving”. A group of Forza Italia members have chosen Vannacci in Messina. Meanwhile, in Campania, discontent is growing ever stronger.

Giacobazzi’s statement – who held a press conference yesterday admitting to discussions with Renzi – follows those of Giovanni Gidari, provincial deputy secretary of Forza Italia in Modena and member of the regional executive; Bruno Rinaldi, a town councillor in Castelvetro; and Simone Torrini, a political adviser on the provincial Forza Italia executive. Also included was Gianmarco Nardini, provincial secretary of Forza Italia Youth. They had all made an appearance at Renzi’s rally over the weekend. And it was precisely there that talk began – with the former prime minister himself speaking openly about it – of new recruits who “will be just the beginning”. The sights of Italia Viva, which has always had its stronghold in Tuscany and in particular in the province of Florence, are therefore also focused on this region. In fact, particularly during the last Regional Council, there had been some movement between the two parties, with former Italia Viva member Sguanci switching to Forza Italia, before returning to Renzi’s side and finishing his term in the ranks of the ‘Azzurri’. However, any new recruits this time round are likely to be concentrated mainly at local council level.

As for the turmoil currently engulfing Forza Italia in Campania, however, there is already a wealth of literature on the subject. The party conference that crowned Fulvio Martusciello as regional secretary, as is well known, gave rise to a whole series of objections, primarily from MPs Annarita Patriarca and Pino Bicchielli, and Senator Raffaele De Rosa. Now, following calls from the President of Calabria, Roberto Occhiuto, to open up and revitalise a ‘stale’ party, the head of the delegation to the European Parliament has responded: ‘The event in Naples marking Silvio Berlusconi’s 90th birthday proves the opposite’. While Occhiuto is indeed “an asset”, if “we are discussing today how Forza Italia can become stronger, this bears the hallmark of Antonio Tajani”. Furthermore, in a video published by the youth wing of Forza Italia in Campania in recent days, a number of party activists can be seen mocking the term “outdated” by paying a visit to an Asian shop. It is not exactly a climate of great harmony in these parts. Also in Campania, yesterday Futuro Nazionale presented its new provincial coordinators, some of whom are hinting at a moderate stance that could attract a few from Forza Italia.

What is certain is that, with regard to Vannacci, Forza Italia has lost two town councillors in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, in the province of Messina, who have officially formed the Futuro Nazionale faction. This is a consequence of the defection of former Forza Italia MP Tommaso Calderone, a local heavyweight in terms of vote shares, which could lead to other elected representatives joining the Futuro Nazionale cause in the coming weeks.

For a Tajani who is fortifying his position through party conferences (and who, in true Gramscian fashion, is attempting to navigate the final stages of the parliamentary term with conferences entitled “L’ottimismo della volontà”), in short, there are movements pointing towards a party that is less solid than one might think. Whether a Renzi-style takeover can actually be carried out, however, remains to be seen.