“We lost, but the government is going ahead anyway, Bossi is with me, the majority is cohesive and determined. We have to carry out tax reform, justice reform and the southern plan. I triple my strength every time I'm defeated." These are, in summary, the intentions expressed by Silvio Berlusconi in the aftermath of what Northern League supporter Roberto Maroni has defined as the "slap" he suffered in the administration. In short, the prime minister is determined not to pass the hand and to resist. Whatever it takes.
To do this, he has a real war path ahead of him, which will culminate on Sunday the 12th in the referendum, in particular the one on the legitimate impediment. Indeed, in order to move forward, indeed only to be able to continue to get by (far from epochal reforms), the government needs three conditions to be met: 1) the stability of the alliance with the League, 2) the cohesion of the majority, 3) the passing the referendum test unscathed. First condition: the alliance with the League holds for now. Not only the PDL, but also Bossi's party retreat (and how), in the opinion of the voters.
The Northern League base is in turmoil on Radio Padania, but Maroni, recognized as "the slap", also adds that the Government must now give itself "a whiplash" to move forward. Second condition: to keep the majority he needs that the group of "Responsible" does not fall apart, in short, that the Scilipoti line holds, even after the stomach aches of the missing undersecretaries. And above all that the internal debate of the PDL be as contained as possible and be satisfied with an appointment of Alfano as sole coordinator and with a summons of undefined general states.
Here it should be noted that Giluliano Ferrara has already fielded a much more demanding proposal for party and prime minister: Berlusconi must re-legitimize himself as head of the PDL, through primary elections to be held in October. A bitter pill to swallow for those who have always defined themselves as the only one entitled to govern, because they were elected with the vote of the Italians. But it is the third condition that could prove to be the most difficult for the prime minister to overcome: in twelve days there will be a return to the polls for the referendums: the one for nuclear power (still sub judice by the Cassation), those on water, and above all which requires the repeal of the Alfano award and would return Berlusconi to his trials, without the shield of legitimate impediment.
There is no doubt that, precisely on the latter, the opposition will raise the bar and its voice to try to beat Berlusconi's resistance to pass the hand to a transitional government that can implement the 40 billion economic maneuver and allow the reform of the electoral law, in which the League also seems to be interested. Which could also give the green light to its supporters to go to the polls on the 12th and 13th. And when the going gets tough, even the 50% quorum can become achievable.
