The center-left primary on the calendar for the approaching 6-7 February has not yet revealed clearly opposing strategies and projects among the candidates. Beyond the "dreams" (the reopening of the Navigli) and the largely shared but equally generic objectives such as intervention in the most disadvantaged districts, the strengthening of public transport, the redevelopment of large surfaces such as those of the former railway yards, the restructuring of unusable public housing, the only terrain on which positions diverge in the public debate is that of the methods of obtaining the resources necessary to finance investments.
beppe room would be willing to sell shares of SEA and A2A while Francesca Balzani he thinks of strengthening the fight against tax evaders and claims (like Roberto Maroni for the Region) the restitution of part of the state taxes. For the record, the 5-star candidate plans to raise cash by introducing the entrance ticket to Milan.
In the centre-left, the result of February 7 is very important. it is for Matteo Renzi as for his opponents who consider Beppe Sala the proconsul of Palazzo Chigi as well as the local standard bearer of the "Party of the Nation". This is why the primaries will first of all be an internal settling of scores between the two souls of the left. The suspicion that a part of the left wing has as its main objective that of making Sala's candidacy and then the election at Palazzo Marino impracticable at all costs is not unfounded, precisely to hit Renzi.
It is a fact that Sel's participation in the primaries, moreover without officially supporting any of the candidates, has all the flavor of a temporary relationship that could end very soon due to “lack of reciprocal loyalty. Paradoxically to cause the risk of collapse of the majority that elected in 2011 Pisapia however, it is not the defections but the demonstrations of support (even presumed) by subjects outside the perimeter of the center left towards Beppe Sala, the candidate who can reasonably attract the consensus (necessary to win) from the moderate areas both in the primaries and in the actual elections.
Milano it is a community that has historically anticipated, for better or for worse, the trends taking place in Italian society. There is a strong fear that a success by Sala will speed up the process of modernization of the PD and the final decline of a "genetically different party". This would also mark the defeat and, above all, the isolation of the radical and antagonistic left.
For this reason, CL's alleged interest in the former city manager of Letizia Moratti arouses suspicions mixed with indignation. Just as the explicit support of Denis Verdini (a decisive ally in guaranteeing Renzi's majority in the Senate) becomes a real scandal which in the "politically correct" would impose a public refusal on the part of the beneficiary Sala. And it is surprising that even the Milanese secretary (Renziano) of the PD Bussolati speaks of a "provocation by Verdini".
The rule of "tell me who votes for you and I'll tell you who you are" seems to apply. Nevertheless Piero Bassetti, historical exponent of the DC left and first president of the Lombard Regional Council, one of the "fathers" of the victory of Pisapia, today supports Beppe Sala without delay and with great pragmatism. According to Bassetti, who spoke together with Bruno Tabacci at the Stelline on 23 January at a meeting promoted by Sala's supporters, he was very clear in arguing that the traditional concepts of "right and left" made sense when there were ideological parties, which today do not they disappeared.
For Bassetti if the so-called "civil society" and the political forces want to give continuity to the Giunta Pisapia, the primaries are not made to choose the candidate politically closest to this or that group but the candidate who has the greatest chance of winning in the voting. Meanwhile he continues the action aimed not only at discrediting the figure of Sala from a political point of view. The press reports that Nando Dalla Chiesa, in his capacity as President of the Municipality's Anti-Mafia Committee, would have sent a dossier to the Public Prosecutor's Office on the subject of mafia infiltration in Expo tenders. Francesca Balzani's own statements on Sala's "half-truths" are not a reassuring signal.
The primaries in February seem to be approaching the American model where the contenders do not spare themselves low blows, but they also do not disdain to adopt third international practices where first condemnation is made and then proof is sought. The contrast is so profound that the primaries could only be the first "round" of a game that could remain open for many months until the final vote and give space to new scenarios that have hitherto been unpredictable that would bring some of the current outsiders back into play, inside and off center left.
