And what if Renzi were to stand in the primaries, given the deadlock in the centre of the broad political spectrum?

Rome. “If they carry on with this ‘yes, no, maybe’ business, with all these vetoes and mini-vetoes, it won’t be long before Renzi snaps and says: ‘I’m standing in the primaries’.” The rumour comes from circles not far removed from the former prime minister and leader of Italia Viva, and captures a sense of bewilderment that could turn into exasperation: ‘But really,’ is the question springing up within Italia Viva, ‘can the centre of the centre-left really afford to be so fussy?’ In short: one has to put oneself in the shoes of the former Prime Minister and leader of Italia Viva, Matteo Renzi, and this is (also) the problem. A problem that arises when considering the various ‘yes, no, maybe’ put forward by the key figures of the so-called centre of the centre-left, compared to the line that Renzi has maintained and continues to maintain: open doors for anyone wishing to build a ‘Reformist House’ with him – a future single list for the liberal-democratic and pro-European forces of the centre-left, in which 50 per cent of the seats would go to Italia Viva and the remaining 50 per cent to the members of the House itself. Yet every day the process returns to square one, with Renzi in “phone-House” mode, to quote E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. How, indeed, can one make a phone call – and then meet as equals – if the very concept of the ‘House’ conjures up premonitory nightmares of being swallowed up in those who are supposed to join it? And so they, too – the others – find themselves back at square one. Building the centre of the centre-left, yes, but how, they ask themselves from one end of the moderate spectrum to the other. There are those from the new Più Uno party (see the former director of the Agenzia delle Entrate, Ernesto Maria Ruffini) who are calling for everyone to meet to find common ground, and those from the ever-new Progetto Civico Italia (Rome councillor Alessandro Onorato) who say: let’s hold open primaries with multiple candidates, then we’ll see. Then there is the secretary of Più Europa, Riccardo Magi, who, a few weeks ago, expressed a ‘maybe’: openness to the idea of a united reformist list, but with equal standing (as Magi himself put it: ‘Renzi, don’t be like the Marchese del Grillo: equal standing means you’re not going as a guest somewhere, with someone else deciding what your name and symbol will be’). All this ‘yes, no, maybe’ – when relayed to Renzi – could, polls in hand, become a temptation that shakes things up. Renzi’s supporters say: ‘The numbers speak for themselves.’ In other words: IV is currently heading towards 3 per cent; even if things go badly, it’ll still get more than 2 per cent, but you, dear potential co-reformists, how much will you get? Zero point something? Senator and former undersecretary Ivan Scalfarotto quotes the English saying: “It takes two to tango”, he says, it takes two to dance: “We keep saying that the doors are open and that we’re willing to build a political force that looks beyond IV, but I’d remind you that IV is just a hair’s breadth away from 3 per cent. Anyone who thinks they can win by turning their back on these voters knows nothing about politics, or even maths.” So? “So we’ll be there in any case; the broad coalition needs pro-European and reformist forces.” You’ll be there, but how and with whom, we ask IV’s regional councillor and staunch Renzi supporter, Luciano Nobili: “At the moment, we’re adopting a Zen-like stance. We have decided not to fuel controversy, and this applies both to Giuseppe Conte and to the other centre-left forces with whom we have been working for years. Now we want to create the conditions to oust Giorgia Meloni, and to do this we need the reformist centre of the centre-left. We are therefore making our political infrastructure available, both on the ground and at the level of parliamentary groups. If there is a possibility of convergence, so much the better, whether within the IV plus Casa Riformista framework or within a broader context. Otherwise, we are not worried, neither about going it alone in the election nor about standing in the primaries. But now, I repeat, it is time to build. Do others want to stir up controversy? Go ahead.”