“The real stake is not the number of parliamentarians, but the defense of Parliament, its role, its meaning, its function in a democracy. Faced with an anti-parliamentary initiative. That's the point." Emanuele Macaluso, champion of the oldest political struggles (for the survival of the laborers in the Sicilian countryside in the 2016s) and of the more modern ones (in favor of the constitutional reform of XNUMX, which went down in the news like that of Renzi), announced a "convinced ” No to next Sunday's referendum on cutting the number of parliamentarians.
Macaluso, why will he vote No in the referendum?
“Because I believe that this initiative by the M5 Stelle is an attack on the role of Parliament. Let's not forget that it all started with the theatrical representation of the cutting of seats in front of the Chamber of Deputies. Do you remember? A large tarpaulin and then the seats were cut with scissors. As if it were only armchairs and not parliamentarians elected by the people. I believe that this beginning of this campaign is anti-parliamentary and therefore carries with it something anti-democratic and that is why I am convinced that I am voting no. Because it's not just about cutting parliamentarians, it's an attempt to delegitimize Parliament. And so I'm voting No, strongly. And I hope that the No clearly surpasses this position in the polls, which I consider dangerous as well as foolish".
Is it so serious to cut a few parliamentarians? Why should this ruin Parliament?
“For what I said before. The initial act should not be underestimated. Considering Parliament, as the grillini did, as a place only for armchairs is clearly an undemocratic act. It is not a question of defining how large the number of parliamentarians should be, this can be discussed in a constitutional reform. But if the birth certificate of this campaign is what we have said, then I say attention, because we know very well that the 5 Star Movement is not for a parliamentary democracy, but for a direct democracy, they have an anti-parliamentary vocation that cannot be underestimate. In short, the real stake is not the number of parliamentarians, but the defense of Parliament, its role, its meaning, its function in a democracy. Faced with an anti-parliamentary initiative. That's the point."
But this reform was voted by the vast majority of parties in Parliament. And the Democratic Party confirmed this vote by giving indications for the Yes. What happened?
“I'm talking about the Democratic Party. There is a slippage in this party. The secretary's position of never detaching from the 5 Star Movement is wrong, very wrong. We cannot always accompany this relationship which Zingaretti considers strategic. We must appreciate the right positions and reject the wrong ones in an alliance, this is the autonomy of a political force. Otherwise that political force no longer has autonomy and is conditioned by the temporary ally”.
What will happen after the vote? Is the government at risk?
“I think nothing happens. Because the government has not spoken. The Prime Minister rightly did not take a position: whether the No wins or the Yes wins, the government remains what it is. If the government had committed itself, if it had declared that it was for a Yes or a No, then I would have understood that it would have been questioned; but the prime minister did not comment, he pulled himself out of this competition. And he did well. Because one thing is the fundamental Charter which concerns the rules that apply to everyone; and another is governments. The Constitution remains, the governments pass”.
In short, didn't it happen like the last time when we voted for Renzi's referendum?
"Exact. In that case Renzi identified himself with the referendum, going so far as to say that he would abandon politics, which he then did not do as we know. That's not the case here."
But in the light of what happened afterwards, wasn't it better that Renzi's referendum had won?
“I start by saying that I voted Yes to the reform presented by Renzi. In that referendum there were some right things and some wrong things, they weren't all right or all wrong. For example, that reform put an end to perfect bicameralism, differentiating the role of the Chamber and the Senate. The mistake was that instead of discussing, verifying with other political forces how to change the Constitution together and in what way, Renzi identified himself with his creature, which transformed the competition into a referendum on his person, in favor or against him. And we know how it turned out. But what we are talking about today is not a Reform: it is the apotheosis of anti-politics. An anti-parliamentary drift has already been underway for some time, the Yes sanctions a concrete victory on the ground not only of politics, but of the institutions. It would have been the duty of the Left and the democratic forces to counter this drift, not to support it. And it didn't happen."
Does it mean that the Left has also embraced anti-politics?
“I think that in recent years there has been a very vast cultural retreat in the country which has spread its effects also on this issue. Once upon a time there was a mass culture with large parties that involved and led the masses, today there is a culture only of the elite. After all, populism is the culture of this elite who believe they are interpreting the most negative impulses of the people, rejecting political mediation, intermediate bodies, representation. The left as I conceive it has nothing to do with this stuff, it should have an alternative approach and oppose this state of affairs in the political battle ”.
Could this vote have consequences on the political line of the Democratic Party?
"In my opinion, yes. And both if the Yes wins, and if the No wins. In the meantime, I think that he will emerge weakened from this situation. He said No to this grill reform three times and the last time he said Yes only in the name of the government. This means that he has chosen a position that does not start from general needs, but from the political position of the moment. And this is serious. And it is a limitation of the current management team which unfortunately is unable to express a political line that contrasts with the Right”.
The Pd-5 Star pact to join the Regionals has failed: how will it end? And this, if not the Referendum, can put the government in crisis?
“In my opinion, the government will hold out because there is no alternative. And in any case, we will have to wait for October to see if we go ahead or go to the polls. Because neither the Regionals nor the Referendum will put Conte in crisis, but rather what the government is able to do or is unable to do. There is no doubt, however, that in this period there has been a right-wing wave in the country, and this is there for all to see. And in my opinion there isn't a strong reaction from the Left and above all from the Democratic Party, given that it is the only important party in this area because the rest is made up of small entities. What to do? The only way is to accept the fight. And politics is combat. Not statements, chatter. It's combat."
What is missing from the Democratic Party at the moment?
“It really lacks the ability to fight. If you don't, you deprive yourself of the opportunity to express your position. Let's go back to the current political line: the Democratic Party should pose the problem. Is the alliance with you 5 Stars strategic? Well, let's see the consequences. There are no common positions? Okay, let's see what to do. Instead everyone goes their own way, each with his own reasons. It's not a good show."
Someone argues that the Democratic Party is flattened on the 5 Stars…
“I would not say flattened, but conditioned. I have no doubt. They don't want to open a conflict but they have to do it one day or another”.
What should they open the conflict about?
“Starting with the role of Parliament. What does it mean for the Democratic Party? Is it still the force that helped bring it into being, save it and strengthen it? I repeat: in this Referendum we are not just talking about a cut, this could also have been discussed. It is that the M5 Stelle is an anti-parliamentary force. And for this it must be fought. Why doesn't the Democratic Party do it? Among other things, it would be worth asking and wondering what the direct democracy in which the grillini believe is and how it is exercised. I didn't understand it”.
