Matteo Salvini has wanted to dress up as a dealer for a month already: he has been repeating for weeks that he wants to put all the party leaders around the table to talk about Quirinale, he wants to “hurry up” because there are other emergencies (implying that electing the new head of state is not). In any case, if his was to be the beginning of the discussion for the moment it is going badly: the Democratic party let it be known that as long as the name of is on that table Silvio Berlusconi, there is no negotiation that takes. Even Irene Tinagli, MEP and deputy secretary of the Democratic Party, who is part of the more moderate area of the party, says that the former prime minister is an “inadequate” figure. And the leader Enrico Letta will clarify the line in the national direction of January 13: the goal is a large majority election that allows to maintain the unity of the majority and therefore avoid early elections, the real thing about the M5s ally. But the speech of January 13 could also be an opportunity for Letta to express an official opening to the current Prime Minister Mario Draghi, a card that can only be played with an iron pact on the holding of the legislature. The 5 Stars in this picture seem to be on different frequencies from those of the center-right and the rest of the center-left. If, in fact, in recent days the leader Giuseppe Conte (a bit ‘to get the name of Berlusconi off the agenda) had bet a first chip on a woman – however not explaining with which identikit, not even in principle – today the assembly of senators voted almost unanimously that it is necessary to put pressure on the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella to make him stay at the Quirinale. An event that the head of state has already ruled out countless times, the last one during the year-end speech in which he also stressed that “this is what the Constitution provides“. This does not mean that there is a veto on Draghi or any other “high profile” candidate, as they often repeat in the Movement.
In short, if what you see in the public exits is what also happens in the corridors of Parliament, the political forces, three weeks after the start of the votes in Montecitorio, are several light-years away from each other. Salvini continues to manage two ovens: with Berlusconi in the field (and it seems incredible the opposite, at the moment, knowing the man’s ambitions), the League is ready to support him, but if a candidacy for an agreement on a name supported by numbers emerges wide, which goes beyond the boundaries of the center-right, the Carroccio is the first who wants to close quickly. At the first response of the Democratic Party, the League responds a little bitterly, as if surprised: “Letta vetoes and wastes time”.
For now, the parties keep their cards covered, also attentive to any signals that may come from Palazzo Chigi. During the holidays, Draghi heard from all the leaders for their good wishes, for his part he works on the many dossiers, from the extension of the Super green pass Everyone bills, and it should not go beyond what was said in the press conference at the end of the year.
The middle of next week will still be crucial: once the intentions of the Democrats are understood, Berlusconi, Meloni and Salvini should get together again to fine-tune their strategy. The former premier from Arcore would meanwhile be engaged in a series of phone calls with the loyalists to test the pulse of the situation and would also have had several interviews with the governors of the center-right in view of the meetings of the councils to choose i representatives of the Regions. If officially the center-right remains ready to converge on the name of the Knight as a candidate for the Hill, this compactness would seem granite only in appearance. Rumors of Transatlantic report in fact of doubts and crossed suspicions on the solidity of the agreement in support of the Knight. The eyes are first of all on the allies: Salvini and Meloni. The leader of the League would have given several reassurances on the vote to Berlusconi also because – this is the reasoning made in the center-right – with the Cavaliere al Colle, the former Minister of the Interior would complete the bid on the blue party. A move to increase consensus within the coalition and a way, they explain, to avoid being cornered Europe. Also Giorgia Meloni he has repeatedly stated that, if a candidate, his party is ready to support Berlusconi. But inside Come on Italy not everyone believes it, also because theAnsa reports unconfirmed rumors tell of a meeting in which the leader of the tricolor party actually expressed serious doubts about Berlusconi’s candidacy.
And in the center-left? In Letta’s resumption agenda, two appointments are circled in red: after the Epiphany, even if telephone contacts have continued in these days, he will have a new meeting with Giuseppe Conte e Roberto Speranza to define a common line in view of the Quirinale match. And then precisely the party leadership on the 13th. It is no mystery that among the members of the leadership and parliamentary groups, who will attend the meeting, exist different majorities and visions who risk colliding in a delicate game like that of the Colle. Letta’s goal is compact the party and receive a full mandate to negotiate on two lines: a president of the Republic with the most unitary profile possible, forward with the legislature until natural expiry. So far the compactness of the Democratic Party seems almost taken for granted but in the party there is no shortage of cheeks with respect to the name of Draghi which for Letta is more than an option. Precisely to try to compact everyone, the secretary will clarify one point: the negotiation for Draghi at the Quirinale must be intertwined with a parallel reflection on the government and on the premier. An argument that convinces the minority of Reformist base and those who fear that in the end Letta points to early elections and therefore they are against the Draghi hypothesis. There is no concern instead in the Democratic Party and also in Free and Equal on the Conte and M5s line. In the last few hours, the 5-star leaders have made it clear that the pentastellati want “a high profile” and a guarantee and there is no “prejudice or veto” in M5s on anyone, much less on Draghi. “We distrust anyone from using M5s to block the way for candidates who are not liked by others”.