“Renzi must stick to reformism, convinced Europeanism, and change. Talking about alliances and lists, where everything is inside and its opposite, creates a lot of confusion in the electorate and makes no sense, given that the electoral system will be proportional”. Elisabetta Gualmini, former president of the Cattaneo Institute, today vice president of the Emilia-Romagna Region in Pd share, is not about to put the secretary on the grill, after the defeat in the administrative offices. A "right wind" is blowing over Italy, but precisely for this reason the helmsman must keep the course steady. In this interview with FIRSTonline, the political scientist analyzes the outcome of the vote and the prospects of the centre-left.
Professor Gualmini, did you expect this result to come out of the administrative offices? In fact we see the resurrection and revenge of the center-right, albeit with Northern League traction, the collapse of the M5S and the defeat of Matteo Renzi's Pd, especially in red strongholds such as Genoa and Sesto San Giovanni.
“Candidates and specific local events matter a lot in administrative elections. It is quite natural that in the Municipalities, after decades of continuity, voters want to change, as happened in Genoa and Sesto San Giovanni. A healthy alternation of political forces is not a bad thing. After that, the League capitalized, leveraging on a very complex and difficult to manage problem such as that of migrants and it drove the whole center-right. There is no doubt that a right-wing wind is blowing in the country.
Of course, local administration is not politics, but do you have the feeling that the current electoral trend, with its many contradictions, goes beyond Sunday's result?
“No, the political game will be very different from that of the administrative ones, where candidates and specific programs for each city count. In politics, if this electoral system remains, there will be no coalitions and above all the great debate will be on Europe, that is, on who is in favor of the European project and who is against it. I find it hard to see Berlusconi and Salvini united on this challenge".
Won't there be a new electoral law?
“It seems clear to me that this Parliament is unable to rewrite the electoral law, we need to take note of it. I think that we will inevitably go to vote with this law, that is, with a proportional system with the majority bonus, perhaps harmonized between the Chamber and the Senate".
Since December 4 Renzi has lost his magic touch, today he seems more inclined to aggregate disagreements than consents. After the season of scrapping and after that of government reforms, has the secretary's Democratic Party lost his identity?
“Discussions about Renzi are deliberately aimed at weakening him and questioning his leadership, especially by the forces of the radical left which, we recall, overall barely reached 5% in these elections. Renzi must stick to reformism, convinced Europeanism, and change. Talking only of alliances and lists where everything and its opposite are in it not only creates a lot of confusion in the electorate, but it doesn't even make much sense given that the electoral system will be proportional.
At this stage, is the Democratic Party able to understand the needs that come from below and to talk to young people? Do you feel the need for a new reformist project?
“Certainly there is a problem of representation of young people who, in large part, in the latest policies, have expressed an anti-system vote and have taken refuge in 5-star hotels. The very long crisis of the representation and of the traditional parties is still felt a lot and it is hard, in times in which the recovery is not yet sufficient, to recover the young people, who have paid the costs of the recession more than others. However, it is not true that the Democratic Party is far from the weak categories. The Renzi government is the first to introduce a structural fund against poverty, the first to introduce the minimum inclusion income, the first to redistribute it to families and young people. However, the effects of these policies are still not seen concretely on the voters”.
What do you think of the ius soli: wouldn't it be better to postpone it to the beginning of the next legislature, to save it from exploitation by the right and by Grillo?
“Important cultural battles for votes cannot be postponed. Indeed, the more the right and the 5 stars blow on nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment, the more we need to make it clear that the ius alone has nothing to do with the landings and the migrants we see arriving on our shores, it is not a concession without any limit, because it requires specific requirements such as school cycles and permanence and work in our area. However, the children who are born here and who study and play and live with our children have the right to be considered Italian. I repeat, nothing to do with the gigantic challenge of asylum seekers, which must be managed at European level".
Content is important, but alliances also matter. For the Pd - in view of the political elections - wouldn't it be better to widen the field, perhaps from Calenda to Pisapia, at the price of softening the programmes?
“Personally I believe that the strategy of “all together regardless” really doesn't work. It can work at the electoral level, but when you have to govern, you cannot bring together political forces that believe that the job act is the worst of all evils and forces that think that reform has positive aspects. Thinking of governing with everyone inside, making a big crowd, leads nowhere. But this is my personal opinion."
Do you think Renzi should give up the role of prime minister, if this were the price to pay for expanding the centre-left, for a higher goal?
“Renzi won the primaries with great success and we have not seen other leaders who have challenged him. Anyone can show up and challenge Renzi, given that the PD is a contestable party. Civati, D'Alema, Bersani, Montanari, Fratoianni, Pisapia and others from the galaxy of forces on the left today do not have the numbers to challenge Renzi's leadership. With 3% you cannot think of dethroning the secretary of a party who has just won the primaries and travels around 28-30%”.
