A Calenda-Boldrin deal? The economist and founder of Ora!: “We don’t want a seat at a table that’s already set”

Marattin looks to the right, whilst Calenda reopens dialogue with Michele Boldrin. Within the Centro project – the political initiative launched by the leader of Azione ahead of the 2027 elections – the possibility of an alliance with ORA!, the movement founded by the Paduan economist and entrepreneur Alberto Forchielli, is once again on the cards. A dialogue that had so far remained on the sidelines, partly due to the far from cordial relations between Boldrin and Luigi Marattin, secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party. Now, with Marattin leaning towards an alliance with the centre-right, a new opportunity has opened up. This is also because Calenda urgently needs to rally centrist forces – and not just men and women of good will. Both to demonstrate that the Centre can truly be a welcoming home for reformists outside the two main political blocs, and because votes are needed to clear the 3 per cent threshold required by the electoral law.

Meanwhile, in Bologna on 7 November, Calenda presented plans for a joint list with Pina Picierno’s Spazio Pubblico and Piercamillo Falasca’s Europeisti.eu. Also on stage was Andrea Marcucci, leader of the Marattin party, who had broken with the party secretary precisely because of the latter’s decision to distance himself from the Third Pole and look to the right, towards the political spectrum of Forza Italia.

This is where the possible rapprochement with ORA! comes in. The movement has reposted a video of Boldrin on social media, accompanied by a message in which he recalls having proposed, for a year and a half, to Azione and other reformist forces the creation of a common alternative. Calenda responded live on social media, confirming that discussions with ORA! are already underway. “I simply ask that there be clear rules of engagement. If they are roses, they will bloom,” he said. The reference to roses was no coincidence. It is the same approach taken by Marattin to initiate dialogue with the centre-right right here in these columns.

But Boldrin’s account of the initial contact between Calenda and his movement is less detailed. “We,” he tells Il Foglio, “declared our willingness to engage in dialogue with Azione a year and a half ago; we have always kept the door open in all regions, provinces and cities where we could work together, and we continue to do so.” The movement, he explains, has put forward various proposals at national level, including in writing and to Marattin himself, before “he went off on a tangent about Israel”, as well as the subsequent controversies with Calenda himself on the subject. “I’m not making this a personal issue; I’m simply noting the political choices,” he says. At the ORA! national assembly in Rimini on 20 September, a leader from Azione had been invited and had responded with an open attitude. Afterwards, however, there was no follow-up: “The last message was: ‘When I know something, I’ll let you know.’ Now I read that there is a desire to talk. Fine: I’m waiting for official news; for the moment, I’ve only seen posts on social media and messages from third parties.”

Boldrin also plays down the account of Pina Picierno’s alleged mediation. “Spazio Pubblico? I’ve never spoken to them; we invited Picierno on several occasions, and she kindly replied by sending video messages of greeting. I have no personal contact with her, but in any case there is nothing to mediate.” The economist says he only learnt of the renewed interest from Calenda’s public statements: “Excellent: as I’ve said, we’ve been offering to hold a public debate for over a year, but for the moment, that’s all I know.”

The point, for NOW!, is not to secure a place on Calenda’s list. “It seems to me we’re being offered a seat at a table that’s already set: I don’t think that’s the most appropriate approach. If we want to put together a list, we do it together; we need to set the conditions and the programme together,” warns Boldrin. The request is to start with the content and discuss specific proposals publicly, before tackling the composition of the lists. “If there is time to build this together, we can find democratic and transparent ways to draw up the lists too, macro-area by macro-area. I am opposed to secret negotiations where seats are simply carved up.”

Even the policy agenda, Boldrin insists, cannot be treated as a mere detail. Pensions, public spending, cash handouts, benefits, taxation and resources for investment, as well as the labour market, the environment, innovation, education, housing and energy, are the priorities set out by the ORA! assembly. There are also issues of identity on which the movement is unwilling to accept any ambiguity: “We need to clarify what it means to be pro-European and stand with Ukraine, to uphold liberal values and to support human rights, including and above all in Palestine. We are not inclined to form ambiguous coalitions on these issues.”