Three months after the political-electoral tsunami at the end of February, almost seven million Italians are once again called to vote; this time mainly for municipal elections. Yet, at least on paper, it would be a valid test (14 provincial capitals, among which the city of Rome stands out above all) to verify the state of health of Italian politics, even in the aftermath of the formation of the Letta government, the so-called "of great understandings". While awaiting the results before next Monday, then the ballots of 9 and 10 June, some indications can still be gathered from the progress and even more from the conclusion of the electoral campaign.
The first impression is that a great chill (not only for meteorological reasons) continues to surround Italian politics. It is certainly not a sign of good health, the one for which about two thousand lists were counted, as a total of those presented in the various municipalities called to vote. “So much for bipolarity”, Totò would say. And, if you want to measure the fever of our electoral political system, the length of the municipal ballot in the capital is enough: over 120 centimeters were needed to place all the symbols presented.
Of course, in the two thousand lists, mainly local and local, there are few who consider themselves party members. Just think that among the major political formations, only the Democratic Party is left to technically declare itself a "party". Most prefer to call themselves movement. Thus the Five Stars, but also the People of Freedom and even (until now) Civic Choice, which is not very present in this electoral competition, where instead the UDC is back on its own, now allied in center-right coalitions (in the majority of cases) , now center left.
And that the cold around politics is really so much is confirmed by the Roman squares, in which the so-called big names held their respective closing rallies. The closing demonstration of the PDL and its allies was set at the Colosseum. With Alemanno, outgoing mayor, and Berlusconi, who continues (apparently rightly) to claim the best polls of these times. No more than three thousand present. With a speech by the boss in a minor key, almost all written down, and with the usual tried-and-true salesman ending, such as the Dulcamara of the Elisir d'amore, and rhetorical questions to the audience, to the rhythm of repeated "Do you want...". As for the mayor, all he has to do is sing the "thank goodness Silvio is here" at the end.
Nor did things go much better in Piazza San Giovanni, after Ignazio Marino, back from a somewhat wooden electoral campaign (hinged more on himself than on the major party that supports him) spoke to an audience of less than 10 thousand people. It seems that only Grillo managed to gather 15 people in Piazza del Popolo. However, he figure is much less than the half million of the closing of the campaign for the policies in February.
The other strong candidate from the capital, Alfio Marchini, back from a campaign that most judged "brilliant" has shrewdly bet on a concert by Antonello Venditti. It is a pity that attendance at the concert was much larger than the (reduced) ones that had applauded the candidate for mayor.
Monday evening, in the presence of numerical results, it will be possible to pass from impressions to analyses. To verify: 1) if the forward race of the grillino movement, which appeared in difficulty in the first parliamentary tests, is confirmed and continues. 2) If, and to what extent, the strong growth in the polls of Berlusconi and the PDL is true. Which, however, could find some obstacles both in the modest commitment made by Berlusconi in the campaign, and above all in the modesty and usury of the political offer of the candidates for mayor. Starting with the candidate for mayor of Rome, rather tried by the recent scandals on Parentopoli and so on. 3) Finally there is the question of the Democratic Party.
Coming out defeated (or worse with the victory mutilated) by the policies that saw him favored, the party, now owned by Epifani, made mistakes after mistakes in the elections of the head of state, finding himself in the end more or less forced into the government of broad agreements, moreover headed by one of its authoritative exponents. And Letta certainly managed to give his best in choosing ministers. But the fact remains that for the electorate of the Democratic Party a government with Berlusconi and the PDL is digested even worse than a Berlusconi government. And this could also weigh on the administrative vote.
