It is not the first time that politics has found itself giving its worst in the last days of the year with Parliament and the Government subjected to the pressures of increasingly unscrupulous and irresponsible lobbying. It happened when there was the finance law and connected provisions. It happens now that there is the stability law accompanied by equally connected decrees such as the so-called save Rome.
However, what has certainly worsened in the aftermath of Berlusconi's twenty years is the general political framework, in which once upon a time even parties of the right, center and left fought each other harshly. Today, however, it is no longer the parties that oppose each other. Only the Democratic Party has the courage or ingenuity to continue to be called that. For the rest there are mostly populist movements that range between right and left without ever passing through the center. Which, moreover, after the electoral failure of Civic choice and the consequent fragmentations, is practically non-existent.
These movements are primarily the grillini of Cinque stelle, born as a protest on the left of the traditional left and now increasingly engaged in common battles with what remains of Berlusconi's party, the Brothers of Italy and the League, often under the direction by the fiery leader of Forza Italia Renato Brunetta. Not yet in Parliament, but already divided among themselves, then there are the very active pitchfork movements in the squares, but which at the first attempt at a large national demonstration recorded a resounding flop.
A flop that intelligent and well-equipped political forces (the parties, in fact) could have exploited to delegitimize those who, focusing on the crisis and popular discontent, only manage to add confusion to confusion. But things didn't turn out that way. And we are therefore witnessing the pursuit, above all by Berlusconi, of these new protagonists of the scene. “They are our ideas. They can become our people, our voters." So much for the liberal revolution.
Up to now we have referred above all to the not only folkloric outline of those who declare themselves opposition forces and who in fact carry out a vigorous action that declares themselves anti-politics, but above all anti-system. Let's come to the other side of the political scene: that of the government, its majority and the institutions that are trying to keep this unfortunate country together.
The Letta Government has certainly done and continues to do little: on medium and long-term reforms it has so far stuttered; in the international field it has a certain credibility despite serious incidents such as that of the Kazakh lady; it is not very brilliant in dealing with the problems of immigration (the Bossi-Fini has not been overcome at all) and what is happening in the reception centers from Lampedusa to Rome is a shame. The fact remains that so far it has managed to be a sort of sole factor of stability in a great storm. It's not little, but it's not enough. Stability without reforming vigor gradually weakens, until it disappears and perhaps leaves the field to the pitchforks of many populisms.
But for the government to acquire reforming force, it must deal with its atypical majority. It is formed by a majority shareholder, the Democratic Party, which has many souls; a minority shareholder, but decisive for its stability, is Angelino Alfano's Nuovo centre-right. A political force that had the courage to leave Berlusconi, with whom, however, it could return to alliances in an electoral moment that the Alfanians hope will not be close.
In the Democratic Party, the new secretary Matteo Renzi does not hide a robust intolerance for this modest ally. To the point of stating that electoral reform does not necessarily have to be done with the government ally. Which is true in theory, but in practice it would mean the delivery of Alfano's head into the jaws of the looters (originally hawks) of Berlusconi's party. Such a scenario would lead to a government crisis and is not desirable for the Democratic Party, Letta or the country. And it is foreseeable that Renzi will wisely take these things into account.
In short, if so far Letta has shown attention and compliance with Renzi's first moves (some of them very positive) as secretary, now it could be up to the new secretary to do the same towards her, also taking Alfano's reasons into due account. Who, in turn, could try to free himself definitively from any subjection towards Berlusconi's history, looking more and more at the center (for now empty) rather than at a right as crowded as confused. And in this way he could also try to make a party worthy of being called a party.
As can be seen, the reference framework of the Letta government remains uncertain and precarious. What is certain is that there is currently no credible alternative to it. Therefore, it is better to try to move forward by keeping the country together, in any case making a dignified majority electoral law soon. Indispensable amid so many difficulties will once again be the generous role of the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, who, not surprisingly, is increasingly the target of irresponsible attacks from populisms of the right and left. And the new secretary of the Democratic Party will have to take this into account above all, trying (perhaps for a limited time) to be a midfielder before becoming a center forward.
