Salis (at present) is not acting as a coalition builder, but is writing a book of istruzioni per l’uso della coalizione. An extract

In recent years, the world has seen the rise of authoritarian leaders who promise order and swift decision-making. This may seem reassuring in times of uncertainty. But modern societies are too complex to be governed by top-down models. The strength of democracies lies precisely in their ability to mobilise diverse energies. When a community manages to bring together expertise, civic passion and accountable institutions, it becomes capable of tackling even the most difficult challenges.

This is the true meaning of progressive politics: not to replace society with the state, but to build a space in which society can express the best of itself. It is a less spectacular vision than that proposed by many authoritarian leaders, but it is also far more robust. Because a city that learns to change alongside its citizens becomes far more resilient than one governed solely from above.

When I think about Italy’s future, I envisage precisely this kind of politics – one that does not merely manage the present, but creates the conditions for people to contribute to building a shared way of life. We are a country where motorists honk their horns to warn one another of the presence of traffic police; we have a deeply ingrained tendency to circumvent the rules and engage in petty mischief like no other – we are truly champions at this – and we won’t become Scandinavians in three steps; perhaps we don’t even want to, but our civic education certainly still has a long way to go. Because, ultimately, democracy is not just a system of rules; it is a community that chooses to look after itself.

From the outside, it all seems simple. Newspapers talk about alliances as if they were equations: one party plus another party equals a coalition. But the reality is quite different. A coalition is not a mathematical formula. It is a living organism. And, like any living organism, it needs time to find its own balance. A coalition is, first and foremost, a matter of trust. People must trust one another enough to agree to work together – and to take risks together. It does not happen automatically. Every political force brings with it its own history and its own struggles. Bringing all this together takes time. And it also requires a certain amount of courage.

A coalition is never a given: it is a balance that must be renewed every day, just like a marriage. Yet, if it manages to find a common direction, it becomes something far greater than the sum of its parts; it becomes a political community. Like the one we began to shape one evening over a year ago, amidst discussions, doubts and a few weary laughs.

When building a broad coalition, especially in a complex city like Genoa, the real challenge is not signing an agreement: it is holding together people who do not share the same political history, but who decide to share a common responsibility. And the Italian centre-left has always had this characteristic. It has never been a uniform bloc. Rather, it is a tradition that brings together different cultures, a political camp that thrives on pluralism and which, precisely for this reason, sometimes appears weaker than other political blocs.

But that fragility is also its strength, because a coalition born of diverse cultures is forced to engage constantly with reality. It cannot take refuge in ideological purity. It must learn to devise workable solutions and reach compromises.

For the centre-left to truly function, it must succeed in demonstrating, both to itself and to the Italian people, that unity yields better results than division. Not only in electoral terms, but above all in terms of governance. And this is where the issue of vision – which is dear to me – comes into play. A coalition can survive for a few months even without a clear direction. But to govern effectively, it needs a shared vision. This applies to Genoa and, even more so, to Italy. 

On 14 October in Genoa at 6.00 pm at the Feltrinelli bookshop in Via Ceccardi, in conversation with Corrado Formigli.

On 17 October in Milan at 6.00 pm at the Feltrinelli bookshop in Piazza Piemonte, in conversation with Luciano Fontana – editor-in-chief of Corriere della Sera.

On 25 October at the Teatro Puccini in Florence at 7.00 pm, in conversation with Stefano Cappellini, editor-in-chief of La Repubblica

“This book was written to tell the story of the day when you no longer ask yourself where you’re going, but simply go there, because tomorrow won’t wait – it arrives and stares you in the face. And tomorrow, as I’ve learnt well by now, always begins today.”

Silvia Salis is the mayor of Genoa. A former member of the Italian national athletics team, she won ten Italian senior titles in the hammer throw and competed in two Olympic Games, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. After retiring from competitive sport, she moved into sports management, eventually becoming the first woman to hold the position of deputy vice-president of CONI.