On the eve of the election of the new President of the Republic it is not surprising that the political system as a whole and each individual party on its own enter into visible fibrillation. It has always been like this and it is entirely natural that it will happen again this time, especially as the official announcement of Giorgio Napolitano's resignation will arrive sooner than expected but has already caught everyone a bit by surprise.
The 5 Star Movement is now in disarray not only for the half step back and the comical authoritarian gestures of Beppe Grillo but for his political nullity, Matteo Salvini's League thinks of securing a future by chasing Le Pen and speaking as always to the belly of the Italians, Forza Italia is now out of control even if Giuliano Ferrara is not wrong in pointing out that without Silvio Berlusconi the centre-right does not exist and, finally, the Pd is crossed by divisions that are never so deep between its leader Matteo Renzi and an internal minority that only knows say no to everything and everyone, like Susanna Camusso's CGIL which every time she opens her mouth makes Giuseppe Di Vittorio, Luciano Lama, Bruno Trentin and many other great trade unionists turn over in their graves.
But behind the uncertainty of the Quirinale, this time there is something deeper in the malaise and disorientation of Italian politics. The media system, being an integral part of the crisis, usually – it is bitter to say it but unfortunately it is like this – does not help us understand where we are really going and is rarely able to offer citizens in-depth analyzes that do not limit themselves to reflecting prejudicial choices of deployment of the writer but offer intelligent readers keys to understanding.
In recent days, however, two exceptions have surfaced in the columns of the "Corriere della Sera" which deserve to be reported. The first, last Thursday, in an editorial by Ernesto Galli della Loggia, clear right from its title: "The illusions of the left Pd: The minority vocation" and the second yesterday by Michele Salvati, also equally explicit in the its title: "Italy to be rebuilt: years of reforms are needed without worrying about voting".
One can say and think of everything about Matteo Renzi and his undeniable dynamism, which has not always managed to achieve the announced objectives but which has undoubtedly moved, with his innovative capacity and his determination to break down totems and taboos, the dead gora of Italian politics, as the political scientist Angelo Panebianco recognized some time ago. But it cannot be expected that Renzi is Mandrake or, as Salvati writes, a new Alexander the Great. The tangle of problems to deal with is too great.
“Neither Renzi nor anyone else – observes Salvati – would be able to cure the sick Italian by magic and I fear that those who criticize him – even rightly so, on individual acts or provisions – do not realistically evaluate either the seriousness of the Italian situation or the need to a continuing consensus that a ruler is required in a democracy, or both". However successful the moves for change may be, the faults inherited from the past are too deep for – is the reasoning of the director of “Il Mulino” – the fruits of them can be seen in a short time.
This is why, in order to carry out the reforms and reap the results, a time horizon of a few years would be necessary in which the Government does not have to worry about measuring electoral support at all times. But even governing between Scilla and Charybdis, as Renzi is forced to do, due to the absence of a secure parliamentary majority, is not a good life. And it is precisely here that Galli della Loggia's observations are particularly pressing.
It is part of the game that the internal opposition to the Pd says no to all Renzi's moves: from article 18 to 80 euros, from the Italicum to the reform of the Senate not to mention the reform of the PA and the school and of course the Pact of the Nazarene and the electoral results. But the crucial point is another and does not allow for shortcuts: in addition to opposing Renzi, what new and alternative proposals - asks Galli della Loggia - are the Civati, the Fassina, the Cuperlo, the Bindi, but also the Bersani and the D'Alemas advancing? What is their project of Italy for today and for tomorrow? “What would they do if they ruled? No one knows and I suspect – the Corriere editorialist wittily notes – that I don't know, they don't know either”.
It's easy to oppose, putting in place an alternative political project that can speak to the whole country and not just to a part of the metalworkers, precarious workers and pensioners is a little more difficult. And so far we haven't seen even a shadow of it. Under the opposition, nothing. Or, at best, just nostalgia for a past that won't come back.
