D’Amato’s response to Calenda: “There is dialogue with Gualtieri”

“If there is a meeting with Gualtieri, we will certainly ensure that we contribute to the formulation of a programme for the city of Rome.” Alessio D’Amato, Lazio regional councillor and Rome secretary of Azione, told Il Foglio this a few days after the event organised by Mayor Roberto Gualtieri to announce his bid for a second term before a vast audience ranging from the Five Star Movement to Azione. That day, D’Amato was in the front row, alongside Valentina Grippo, the Lazio regional coordinator and MP for Calenda’s party.

Following the meeting, however – again in the pages of this newspaper – Carlo Calenda had dampened enthusiasm regarding a possible alliance in the Rome City Council between his party and the Democratic Party, pointing out that his councillors sit in opposition in the City Council and that Gualtieri’s was merely ‘an invitation’. The invitation, however, did not come out of the blue, but is the result of “work that has been going on for months to develop a policy framework to assess whether the conditions exist for a possible dialogue”, Secretary D’Amato tells us. And the former Democrat was keen to point out that, at the event organised by the mayor last weekend, “Gualtieri had some very kind words to say about us. I greatly appreciated the openness he showed towards us without any pretence, and I can assure you that this was also appreciated by Calenda, with whom he subsequently spoke.”

In short, setting aside Calenda’s remarks – which he reiterated yesterday to Adnkronos: ‘There is still no agreement with Gualtieri’ – it seems that an alliance between Azione and the PD in the capital is not such a far-fetched possibility. And indeed, Calenda himself was at the Palazzo Senatorio with his Roman lieutenants just a few days before the event at the Auditorium della Conciliazione. It was on that occasion that the leader of Azione decided to send D’Amato and Grippo as representatives. This is more than just a simple signal. Although, on the subject of shared interests, D’Amato is still playing for time: “We’re waiting for the programme. We’ll see in the coming weeks.” Carefully chosen words, necessary too so as not to blatantly contradict his leader, who as recently as yesterday was repeating: “We haven’t made a decision regarding Rome.” In any case, the dialogue in Rome between the Democrats and Calenda’s supporters – which the Azione councillor himself describes as “fruitful” – exists and is a fact. And it is certainly not a recent development, but dates back about a year: “The first public event we organised together was in December at the Teatro Santa Chiara, entitled ‘Ideas for Rome’. That marked the start of the dialogue, which then continued in the City Council on individual measures,” says the former Democrat, recalling how, from that moment on, they have maintained “a constructive opposition, voting in favour of certain measures where we found them satisfactory”.

From the city’s appearance to improvements to street lighting, particularly in outlying areas, from the call for extended night-time metro services to safety on routes to schools. All these are ‘very concrete’ issues and proposals that are open to discussion. Moreover, Gualtieri has also taken forward some of our requests, such as the waste-to-energy plant in Santa Palomba, which was a long-running battle. And there has been great determination on this front, so it seems to me that productive work is being done: so far, the mayor has taken a positive approach. We’ll see’. But the local level is one thing, the national level another, and to avoid any misunderstanding, the regional secretary clarifies that ‘We are talking about an administrative level; there are no issues of an international political nature, but, I repeat, on certain points we have seen and appreciate the change of pace’. This is also because, at national level, there is a risk of conflict even at the Campidoglio, where Councillor Alessandro Onorato – now also leader of Progetto Civico – was again attacking the head of Azione yesterday: “Calenda has dropped the mask; he is ready to ally himself with the right.” D’Amato’s counter-argument to his leader is also evident in his “personal solidarity” with Goffredo Bettini, whom Calenda has described as one of the great evils of the left: “Debate, even the most heated, should never descend into personal attacks. When that happens, it means we’ve all lost out a little,” wrote D’Amato in a statement.