She asks Meloni not to accept defectors; Marina is “disappointed” by the outbursts. The idea of a leadership committee

Even the name of his dog, Argo, is a plea for protection – the Dudù that Tajani cuddles, the evening caress. Forza Italia is falling apart and the Berlusconi family is worried. He speaks of ‘disappointment at the defections’, at this hollowing out of the party. In Campania, Senator Silvestro has left, and only Tajani’s plea to Meloni – “do not take in defectors” – is halting the defections of MPs Bicchielli and Patriarca. In Puglia, Andrea Caroppo is under pressure. Marina Berlusconi is concerned and is warning the rebels not to deal the final blow to Tajani, a minister under attack, whose private life – his wife’s and children’s personal details – has been plundered by hackers and scoundrels. The idea is to form a leadership committee with Zangrillo and Occhiuto; the extreme, impractical option is an extraordinary party conference. Tajani has Argo, but Forza Italia is stuck at Charybdis. 

This Forza Italia is not just another right-wing party in decline, and credit must be given to Tajani, who has fought to keep it afloat following the death of its founder. Forza Italia is now a hotbed of turmoil and is forcing Meloni to recalculate her strategy. Tajani’s stronghold is the south – Campania, Sicily and Puglia – but in all three regions, Forza Italia is under attack from Durigon’s Lega. The departure of Silvestro, who has been appointed deputy secretary to Fulvio Martusciello, is causing a loss of votes and resources. Why is Salvini taking Silvestro on board? Because Silvestro is an entrepreneur – the ‘king of mattresses’ – and is ready to guarantee substantial donations to the Lega. As well as votes, Salvini is also emptying Tajani’s wallet. Raffaelle Nevi, a loyal supporter of Tajani, says, “Those who flee are always in the wrong”, but the remark by Paolo Barelli – former parliamentary group leader and Tajani’s father-in-law, who was forced to step down at the instigation of the Berlusconi family – is more subtle. Barelli comments in Il Foglio: “I brought in ten MPs; what about the others?”

It is a subtle criticism of the new group leaders, and some interpret it as sweet poison directed at Stefania Craxi – who is held in high regard by Marina and seen as a possible ‘secretary’ to steer the party. In recent weeks, Tajani has tried to strike a truce with Occhiuto and Zangrillo. Tajani has had to let go of Barelli and Gasparri but does not want to lose Martusciello, the secretary from Campania who won the party congress. Nevi adds: “Martusciello has won, and the loser can’t just walk off with the ball.” But if Campania is lost, what is left for FI? In Puglia, Martusciello’s protégé is D’Attis, another controversial leader. In Sicily, the situation is even more critical. Meloni has taken on Cateno De Luca, a figure whose actions appear erratic—a Cateno De Luna, who blows kisses to the government in Rome but in Palermo lambasts Schifani and FI, while FI asks: “Can we allow a coalition party to be tarnished by someone who is now supposedly an ally?”

It is curious that Giorgio Mulè – the obvious choice to succeed Schifani – is keeping quiet. If he does so, and he does, it is solely out of a sense of responsibility; but even this, like any virtue, has its limits. There is one minister everyone is now turning to: Zangrillo, who is heading to Naples to have lunch with Tajani’s ‘rebels’ – the very same people whom Tajani himself, out of an excess of insecurity, labelled ‘deserters’. Even the vocabulary has now taken on a new dimension. On one side, the deserters; on the other, the rebels who accuse Martusciello and his ‘paranza’. It is no small matter that the signature at the bottom of the forthcoming candidate lists must be that of Fabio Roscioli, the man chosen by Marina and Pier Silvio (Pier Silvio has repeated: ‘Neither I nor Marina are in politics’, and it is unclear why he has to repeat this every month at his press conferences, which resemble episodes of Bim Bum Bam). It’s not just the candidate lists. Roscioli also has authority over the party emblem. How many of Tajani’s ‘Argo’ factions are there? When the Berlusconi family is asked about this version of Forza Italia, they reply that it is proof that renewal was truly needed. When pressed further – ‘What should be done?’ – they respond instead that we must already be thinking about the post-election period.

Tajani is visibly shaken. He appears disoriented and, paradoxically, has been even more so since losing his key allies, Gasparri and Barelli. He is trying to bring Luigi Marattin on board, which would truly be a coup (in the free market). Tajani has been spared by the press, which is giving him a free pass because, unlike Salvini, he has an impeccable foreign policy record. He is a friend of Merz’s – so much so that he introduced him to Meloni – and is held in high regard by the European Commissioners; it’s just that Tajani has chosen to go down the ‘youth-oriented’ route. He has tried to wink at the camera, to play the TikTok grandad, when all he needed to do was be the noble Tajani: speak less, put on a bit more of an air of importance. ‘There’s no time left to replace Tajani’ is the worst thing one could say about a leader praised by Berlusconi precisely because he didn’t want to be a leader, but merely the reliable one. Tajani is right to cling to his dog Argo, but Forza Italia is not Ithaca. There, the suitors were besieging the house; here, it won’t be long before they sublet it (with a preferential flat-rate tax, a measure pushed for by Tajani) to Cateno De Luca.