In this country, there is simply no way of establishing the (constitutional!) principle of the inviolability of private conversations. Thus, a valuable opportunity to de-politicise the dispute has been missed

The former Minister for Culture discusses his illness in an interview with Corriere della Sera: “I’ve thought long and hard about it: and, weighing up the pros and cons, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s right to describe this particular phase of my life.” Bettini: “I wish my dear friend boundless strength.”

Is the right’s success down to ignorance? Bonaccini has not taken Italy into account, nor those steeped in prejudice, those who believe the semi-educated nonsense circulating on the web and on self-righteous TV, nor those who live and breathe the Constitution without knowing what it actually is.

In Ceglie Messapica, as part of an event organised by Affaritaliani, two hundred young people from across the political spectrum gathered to discuss proposals, projects and ideas. The proposals from Fdi and the PD received the most votes. The focus was on work experience placements and tax cuts. Afterwards, everyone set about making orecchiette.

The argument that primaries are divisive is unfounded. Primaries are one of the most effective tools for creating an alternative. The ‘Francesco Piccolo’ motion to scrap them is self-defeating and distances the broad coalition from a mirror called reality.

“On the left, they confuse history with spirit. To invoke a partisan as leader of the coalition and to feel nostalgia for those years is an incredible contradiction. The primaries? Without a plan, they are primaries in a vacuum,” says the vice-president of ANPI and former president of the Cervi Institute

The Prime Minister intends to extend the simplifications, partly in response to requests from Zaia, Fontana & Co. Meanwhile, the Lega secretary has been excluded from the celebrations in Lombardy.