The vote in Turin even more than that in Rome is the real surprise of the ballots that can change the course of national politics and reopen reflections and controversies on the electoral law.
In Rome, the defeat of the Democratic Party was announced: after Mafia Capitale and after the tribulations of the unhappy Giunta Marino, the grillini had a prairie in front of them and rode the protest in a big way. Now they no longer have alibis and will have to prove that they know how to govern a difficult city like the capital: if they succeed, as those who love the city hope, they will have more chances to run for leadership of the country in the next general elections, otherwise their star will it will soon begin to fade. As happened to the League after the conquest of Milan a quarter of a century ago.
But in Turin it was difficult to imagine the victory of the grillina Chiara Appendino. Not only because the outgoing mayor is a historical figure of the Democratic Party and of the left, who has always had good relations with the establishment, but because the center-left administration had given, in the opinion of independent observers, good proof of itself. It is true that Appendino comes from the good Turin bourgeoisie and that her candidacy did not frighten the establishment, but how is it possible that the Democratic Party loses even where it has always been at the helm of an important city and where it has been able to administer well, unlike From Rome? There will be time to reflect, but the vote in Turin clearly indicates that, beyond the declarations of some leaders, the centre-right voters have crossed the Rubicon and, in order to defeat the Democratic Party and Matteo Renzi, have not hesitated to give the their vote to the grillini. After all, Appendino immediately repaid the entire city with an impeccable comment on the electoral results worthy of her new institutional role: she referred to the history of Turin and its roots, rendered military honors to the outgoing mayor and promised to be the mayor not of just one part but of all the people of Turin.
At this point the vote of Turin, even more than that of Rome, seems destined to influence the course of national politics and to reopen the discussion on the Italicum and on the opportunity to rethink the current list vote to replace it with that of the coalition. Renzi is against it for the moment and he has some reasons: if he were to get his hands on the Italicum again without having experienced it and opening up to the coalition vote, perhaps he would win the next political elections but then it would become very difficult to govern because he would return to lead the country not as a party but as a alliance of parties and small parties, as happened at the time of the Olive tree.
On the other hand, if the challenge to next political elections should be between the Democratic Party and the 5 Star Movement, between Renzi and Grillo, it is easy to imagine right now that all the opposition (of the left but also of the right) would unite against the premier. Renzi said, before the ballot in the Municipalities, that in reality, data in hand, today the challenge for the leadership of the country would be between the Democratic Party and the center-right and not with the M5S but the game would not change and it is all too easy to assume that, in that case, the grillini would easily merge their votes with the center-right in order to send Renzi home.
They come back to mind in these hours the warnings of Giorgio Napolitano who, to avoid a Grillina drift, had the opportunity a few months ago to recommend Renzi to reflect on the electoral law, effectively opening the door to the coalition vote, which would have the effect of temporarily healing the divisions in the Democratic Party but which would certainly open up many unknowns on the future governance of the country. The experience of the Olive Tree and its fratricidal struggles – which twice cost Romano Prodi the loss of Palazzo Chigi, who had also twice defeated Silvio Berlusconi at the polls – is there to remind us of this. Winning elections is one thing and governing is another. But politics, as we know, is the art of the possible. Never say never.
