Not all was lost (perhaps), for the centrists assailed by the reality of the European vote. Not all was lost for the Calendian creature, that is for Action, for whom the failure to reach the quorum for Strasbourg, after the solo race, had brought with it an avalanche of j’accuses: you were wrong not to ally yourself with Emma Bonino and Matteo Renzi and not to present you with the United States of Europe, was the mantra; What a mistake you did for shutting yourself away, was the most benevolent comment. And in short, the rubble of the third pole that never was had covered Carlo Calenda’s post-vote words with discontent (“Bonino makes parties with no one, Renzi to destroy them”). Days of retreat followed, with many ruminations about the future. From the series: what will happen in the autumn, when the former ally Italia Viva goes to the congress? And what will happen within Action, where not everyone thinks the same way, and where there are those who favor constant dialogue even with the center of the centre-right which emerged victorious from the European vote (Forza Italia) and those who would instead like to anchor the party is strongly centre-left.
Not all was lost (perhaps), for the centrists assailed by the reality of the European vote. Not all was lost for the Calendian creature, that is for Action, for whom the failure to reach the quorum for Strasbourg, after the solo race, had brought with it an avalanche of j’accuses: you were wrong not to ally yourself with Emma Bonino and Matteo Renzi and not to present you with the United States of Europe, was the mantra; what a mistake you did by closing yourself off, was the most benevolent comment. And in short, the rubble of the third pole that never was had covered Carlo Calenda’s post-vote words with discontent (“Bonino makes parties with no one, Renzi to destroy them”). Days of withdrawal followed, with many ruminations about the future. From the series: what will happen in the autumn, when the former ally Italia Viva goes to the congress? And what will happen within Action, where not everyone thinks the same way, and where there are those who favor constant dialogue even with the center of the centre-right which emerged victorious from the European vote (Forza Italia) and those who would instead like to anchor the party is strongly centre-left.
And here the run-offs, in a certain sense providential for the Calendians on the brink of a mirage (will it ever be possible to build the famous or infamous, depending on the point of view, house of the reformists?, they ask themselves) offer the possibility of catching their breath: in Perugia, in Modena, in Cremona the positive result of the centre-left, in fact, was achieved also thanks to Azione (relatively up, compared to the European elections, by a couple of percentage points).
“The result of Perugia, like that of Modena, Cremona and many Italian cities”, says Matteo Richetti, group leader of AZ in the Chamber, “demonstrates that if the alternative to the right is made with a strong reformist center of gravity and with candidates of high profile then you are not only competitive but you win elections. It is not a broad question but a question of a credible government alternative. This also applies on a national level.” And in some way we hope, reasons a representative of Action, “and we start again from Perugia as a hope, given the 52.12 percent affirmation of Vittoria Ferdinandi, candidate of the centre-left, proposed by the Democratic Party but supported by a wide coalition, with M5S, AZ and also a part of Italia Viva”.
But, says another exponent, “the Perugia case inspires deeper reasoning”. And that is: what to do in the future, after having metabolised these results in one sense or another – positive in the territories but negative in the European Championships? The supporters of a solid anchoring within the center-left feel galvanized, but within the party the “current” in favor of an expansion to the center in the broadest sense is strong: this is, explains a deputy, “a dialogue not necessarily aimed only at left, and of a possible reunion with those who, at the centre, actually have similar ideas to ours on many things”.
At the word “reunification” there are those who immediately think of a reconstruction of the third center that sank before leaving (the Renzian Luigi Marattin and the deputy secretary of Action Enrico Costa, for example, continue to carry out initiatives together). The combined outcome of the European elections and that of the run-offs, however, inspires other reasoning among the more centrist Action members, also in the direction of Forza Italia (which is to say: won’t we go too far to the left?). But the Perugia case gives strength to those among Calendians who supported the idea of ”united we win”, even when Calenda decided to go divided. Autumn will bring conventions and parallel congresses in the various centrist creatures. “But hopefully the summer will bring advice”, is the common thought of various Calendian heads and souls.
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