The primary election festival is like Sanremo. De Martino is dealing with a broad coalition: no campaign stalls and sky-high viewing figures

There is concern over the ‘broad coalition’ primaries. Last week, it was announced that they will be held in February; but the Sanremo Festival is already scheduled for February, and there is a risk of confusion between the two events or, worse still, a conflict of jurisdiction. The two events already bear an uncanny resemblance to one another: both are eagerly anticipated and both are shrouded in uncertainty. Just as the ‘broad coalition’ lacks a programme, so too does the Sanremo Festival still lack singers and guests – but you can bet that the Sanremo line-up will be announced before the centre-left’s election manifesto. To encourage voter turnout and avoid financial waste and a fragmentation of the electorate, Elly Schlein would be in favour of an ‘Election Day’: primaries and the Italian Song Festival in the same week, on the same days. However, this is precisely the scenario that both the Quirinale and the Ariston would like to avoid, and not just for reasons of institutional protocol. Having polling stations open at the same time as home televoting risks confusing the electorate, but above all mobilising only a portion of Italians during those days; with the result that the winner of the Festival would appear to have a clear mandate from the left – a prospect unwelcome not only to the Meloni government but also to Mattarella and De Martino, who are instead aiming for a Sanremo Festival that is above the fray, with a winner who can sing for all Italians. The M5S would prefer to hold the vote in early February; in this way, the winner of the primaries – by then the leader of the broad coalition – could then definitively establish their legitimacy by taking a front-row seat at the Ariston alongside Alba Parietti during the Festival’s final evening, which attracts the highest viewing figures; but this is precisely what Meloni would like to avoid.

The prospect of the primaries being held before Sanremo is also causing concern in the markets – specifically the music industry: people might emerge from the internal debate within the centre-left feeling worn out, and no longer in the mood to listen to anything, just silence. But Conte insists: primaries just like Sanremo. Hence the idea of a two-round system: in the first round, only the press room and the opinion poll jury vote; in the second, voting from home is allowed. Whoever wins the primaries will challenge Meloni in the general election, whilst the runner-up will represent the broad coalition at Eurovision. The centre-left’s idea is to hold the primaries in the style of Sanremo Giovani: the winner then competes at the Festival against the ‘Big’ acts as a ‘New Entry’. Goffredo Bettini’s reasoning is this: primaries legitimise you in the eyes of your electorate; but a victory at Sanremo would ensure the broad coalition’s candidate is recognised by the whole country. Rai, however, is opposed to this. De Martino is personally negotiating with the leaders of the broad coalition (in the absence of a single leader) to find a solution. For the Festival’s presenter, the ideal scenario would be to bring the primaries forward to January; but if that is not possible, at least to postpone them to the week after Sanremo. To convince the centre-left, De Martino is said to have offered to host the primaries himself, thereby guaranteeing the ‘broad coalition’ maximum viewing figures; furthermore, as he has already done with the Sanremo rules, De Martino also wants to change the format of the primaries: no polling booths, but instead all candidates in the sloping room. Whoever doesn’t roll down wins the leadership and challenges Meloni in the general election.