Salvini and Tajani want primary elections in the cities. Meloni puts a stop to them

If even the President of the Senate is prepared to scrap his successful programme, “A cena con La Russa”, and open up the selection of candidates in the cities to primaries, it means that the centre-right’s intentions are serious. And that the suggestion, thrown out there by Matteo Salvini, is not actually all that far-fetched – or, to put it more accurately, completely out of the blue. The (no longer) League secretary was referring to Milan, where the League is strongly backing MEP Silvia Sardone. But that proposal, put on the centre-right’s table, has already triggered a domino effect. Yesterday, whilst walking through the Chamber of Deputies, the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, Matteo Perego di Cremnago – whom Forza Italia has already fielded as its mayoral candidate – explained to those he spoke to, with his usual calm demeanour, why the proposal for primaries was the right one. Yet he reiterated what he had already said a few days earlier: “We’re ready, but only if they’re held in all the other major cities.” That is to say, in Rome, Bologna, Naples and Turin as well. Not exactly a promising sign for a coalition that, over the last few years, has tried and tested another method: the ‘consensus’ approach. Not least because, as one centre-right MP put it, “if we come up with a prime ministerial candidate to destabilise the broad coalition, what’s the point of falling into the same trap ourselves?”. These are considerations that concern the parties because it is clear that, within a logic of ‘balancing’ candidacies, holding primaries would upset the equilibrium whereby, in one city, voters opt for an independent candidate, in another they put forward a representative of a certain party, who then steps aside in yet another city to the benefit of their allies. Furthermore, local contests are often coordinated by the national leadership whilst allowing room for local demands. And as Galeazzo Bignami, FdI’s parliamentary group leader in the Chamber of Deputies, explained some time ago, “I don’t stick my nose into the contests in towns south of Bologna”. One argument in favour of the ‘gazebo’ hypothesis is the potential ‘mobilising effect’ that could further encourage centre-right voters to turn out at the polls in urban centres where, statistically speaking, they usually struggle to secure votes. And this is also why the option, proposed by the Lega, has been welcomed by Forza Italia. Similarly, it is perhaps no coincidence that Tajani has also returned to the subject of internal primaries within Forza Italia; in an interview with Il Fatto Quotidiano, he issued a stern warning to members of the so-called minority who are challenging the party line. Although the Deputy Prime Minister later clarified his position, stating that he had “never uttered the word ‘primaries’”. ‘I merely said that I am the guardian of FI’s political line. And that to change the political line, a party congress or some other form of consultation is required. But this seems perfectly normal to me; I always say the same thing.’

Nonetheless, the fact is that the primaries are failing to win over Giorgia Meloni in particular. She is well aware that this mechanism is not part of the centre-right’s political tradition. It is true that yesterday, in the Senate, La Russa said on this matter that he did not wish to “rule anything out”. But another Milanese heavyweight within Meloni’s camp, such as former minister Daniela Santanchè, had immediately dismissed the idea as mere speculation. This goes to show just how much, in reality, those within FdI would prefer to avoid an outright contest. In addition to the cities, there will also be a number of knotty issues to untangle, such as the candidates for the regional elections – for example, in Sicily – a matter that has already been the subject of several discussions between Meloni and her allies at Palazzo Chigi. Tajani has become convinced that Schifani, given the myriad difficulties faced by his administration, cannot be re-nominated. The secretary is therefore toying with the idea of putting forward Giorgio Mulè, one of the so-called ‘defectors’ who, at that stage, might at least have less interest in contesting a potential party congress. Although, according to some, the compromise candidate could ultimately be the current commissioner, Nino Minardo.