The diagnosis of Italy's ills is at least incomplete, while the proposed therapy, that of "extreme bipolarity", it would have catastrophic consequences for the country that is just now starting to benefit from the Draghi cure. The proposal launched by Enrico Letta in his closing speech of the Unity festival would lead to victory of the extreme positions both on the right (where, moreover, they have already clearly established themselves) and on the left, where the Pd-5 Star alliance would not result in a party of labor and business, a party of reforms that have been awaited for a long time, but a demagogic conservatism based on the expansion of the role of the state, on the tightening of taxation and on the distribution of subsidies, as demonstrated by the citizen's income.
Il Letta's appeal to bipolarity it is partly aimed at Conte and the grillini, who seem uncertain where to stand, as is evident from their positions for the upcoming local elections. But in large part it is a warning to voters tempted to vote for parties that refer to a genuinely liberal-democratic position such as that of Calenda, Bonino, Renzi, with the addition of a not insignificant part of Forza Italia. In this context, the elections in Rome play a fundamental role not only to try to turn the page in the management of a city now in total decay, but also to outline a possible path of national politics different from the one that sees the clash between the two extremisms of the right and the left.
Letta says the Democratic Party hopes to maintain Draghi at Palazzo Chigi until the end of the legislature in 2023. But will it be true? From the same stage of the Festa dell'Unità, a few days ago, Goffredo Bettini, authoritative inspirer of the party line, said that Draghi's is not the government of the Democratic Party. Letta forgets to remember that a few months ago his predecessor Nicola Zingaretti resigned from the secretariat accusing the bosses of the democratic party of thinking only of seats and not of the good of the country. Nor can we forget that during the government crisis the Democratic Party took a suicidal position by stating that the party would never, ever support a government other than the one presided over by Conte.
Beyond the declarations of intent, concrete facts tell us that the Democratic Party has abandoned its reformist position and it is marching together with the more radical positions of the trade unions (dominated by a Landini who is ambiguous on green passes and a supporter of extension of quota 100, like Salvini). In Rome then the Pd is in fact dominated by the old bureaucracy controlled by Bettini and D'Alema. People who don't want to touch anything at Atac or in waste management. Gualtieri, who, moreover, as minister of the economy has proved to be not very energetic and dominated by Conte, if elected he could do nothing but continue to play the old music, especially if he is forced to bring the Raggi or some of the grillini back to the Giunta.
In Rome, therefore, a real change of pace is needed, as stated in the beautiful book that has just been released by Alfredo Macchiati (2021 Miracle in Rome). And to do that we need a new ruling class like the one that calenda it could lead to the Campidoglio, as opposed to the inconclusive one of the grillini and the conservative and opaque one of the Pd.
But the consequences of the vote in Rome, and in other symbolic cities such as Turin, would also be very relevant at a national level. A victory for the candidates of the Democratic Party, in fact, would strengthen the trend of those in the party who want to go to the early elections to cement the alliance with the 5 Stars, settle internal accounts with parliamentary groups, wipe out any attempt to change the electoral law. On the right, Meloni and, every other day, Salvini too, would like to vote next spring. In this way the ambitions of those in Forza Italia who would like to disengage from the alliance with the extreme right would also be extinguished. To achieve the possibility of voting in advance it would be enough to organize a convergence between right and left to lead Mario Draghi at the Quirinal. At that point it would be difficult to find a Prime Minister capable of holding a broad coalition and continuing to make the reforms and projects to obtain and spend Europe's money.
If instead in Rome he were to win calenda (and perhaps the civic candidate to establish himself in Turin) could be opened at a national level a new political phase. The reformist forces could unite and perhaps attract a good part of Forza Italia. It would be a liberal-democratic formation that could make Draghi's project its own and perhaps present itself to the voters by proposing the continuation of this government and its prime minister for at least another couple of years. At that point, the Democratic Party too would have to deal with its own internal currents and decide whether certain positions of Minister Orlando are compatible with the modernization of the country or actually push towards the consolidation of the old immovable powers.
Once again the nationalist right and the demagogic left risk coalescing, in fact, against the liberal-democratic patrol which could, in the wake of what Draghi is doing, impose a pragmatic policy, of doing, where references to Europe are not only empty slogans, but concrete references for reformist action.
The non-victory of the Democratic Party would then pave the way for a a different political system, not necessarily (and falsely) bipolar, but based on coalition of core forces. This would entail cutting off the wings, leaving Meloni on the right (Salvini will see with his governors of the North what to do) and on the left that part of the 5 Stars who still refer to Di Battista and Casaleggio. This would require a proportional electoral system, therefore without the obligation to form coalitions which, as already experienced, are then unable to stay together to govern.
The choices of the Pd they will again be crucial to allow the country to continue the recovery work started by the Draghi government. In order for this party to take the right direction, voters must reject the policy of Bettini-D'Alema-Provenzano who sacrifices everything on the altar of agreement with Conte who, moreover, directed two of the worst governments of this post-war period. We can start with the administrative elections by not voting for the candidates chosen by this Pd.
