Calenda: “Con Renzi il Terzo polo è impossibile”. Marattin risponde con un indovinello

Carlo Calenda has tried to form the Third Pole, and he is keen to make that known. “Unfortunately, it can’t be done with Renzi,” he told Ping Pong on Rai Radio 1, because the leader of Italia Viva “is with the left today, with Vannacci tomorrow, and with CasaPound in four days’ time, and he’ll always explain that he’s doing it for the good of the country”. The target, however, is twofold. For the leader of Azione, the fact that Italia Viva and Luigi Marattin declare themselves enemies of the two-party system whilst the elections are still a long way off, only to split ‘one to the right and the other to the left’ as they draw nearer, is ‘a bit of a joke’. Then, a further dig at Marattin: “Whilst he was siding with the right, Marattin was the rapporteur for the Superbonus under the Conte II government. Because Italy is a fantastic country.”

The Liberal Democratic Party secretary’s response came in a statement, in the form of a riddle. Calenda “tried to form the Third Pole with Bonino, but it couldn’t be done”. Then with Renzi, and nothing came of that either. Then with Marattin, but “he says” it can’t be done. “Let’s play a quiz: what is the common factor in all three of these situations?”. The implied answer is: Calenda himself – in other words, he is the problem.

This exchange brings to a close a week in which each of the former third-party leaders has chosen their own path. Renzi set this out in writing in Friday’s Enews, addressed to those who criticise him for his alliance with the centre-left. Running alone and securing 5 per cent, or even 8 per cent ‘as four years ago’, would serve no purpose. Better the 2.4 per cent that the polls currently assign to Italia Viva, provided it proves decisive: “Anyone who calls themselves a reformist and says ‘never with the left’ condemns themselves to irrelevance”. He also offered reassurance to the most sceptical voters: “None of you will have to vote for Conte or Bonelli: you will vote for Italia Viva”.

Marattin is looking the other way. His proposals – ranging from cuts to personal income tax to incentives for mergers between SMEs – have been well received by Giorgia Meloni (“these are measures that I believe are worth exploring in greater depth; we are already working on some of them”), and at Il Foglio’s ‘Festival of Optimism’ in Florence, Roberto Occhiuto said he would like to see him join Forza Italia. Speaking to Il Foglio, the MP explained that talks with the centre-right have not yet begun, but that the door remains open, provided that Roberto Vannacci does not join the alliance: “If they’re roses, they’ll bloom.” With the centre-left, the path is narrower: “You don’t need to be a political analyst to realise that certain proposals are outside the scope of today’s centre-left. In fact, they’re reporting me to the public prosecutor’s office.” The Libdem’s 1.4 per cent in the Youtrend Supermedia poll does not shift the balance, but under the new electoral law – which awards the majority bonus to the coalition exceeding 42 per cent – even small fractions count. Fratelli d’Italia has already factored this in, finalising the agreement with Cateno De Luca’s Sud chiama Nord.

Calenda remains the only one still championing the third way. Together with Pina Picierno, who left the PD in June, he is organising the event on Saturday 7 November in Bologna, where Azione and Spazio Pubblico will relaunch the ‘alternative to bipopulism’. Marattin, who was left out of the discussions, had already commented: ‘Apparently, they consider themselves self-sufficient. Best wishes and good luck.” He added that he wished to stay “well away from the mythomania that is occasionally observed in politics”. References to real people? “I wouldn’t dream of making any references.” In short, the prize draw had begun before today. The prize money remains to be awarded.