Fi, Berlusconi's trust in Tajani: united vision for the relaunch

'The meeting between Forza Italia Secretary Antonio Tajani with Marina and Pier Silvio Berlusconi took place in an atmosphere of great friendship and cordiality'. This was stated in a FI note. 'After a broad overview of the political, economic and international situation and the renewed confidence in the Secretary, the focus was on the future of Forza Italia,' the statement adds. 'A united and shared vision emerged for the re-launch of the movement in the spirit and with the values of its founder Silvio Berlusconi. The meeting was attended by Gianni Letta and Dr. Danilo Pellegrino'.

The earthquake that began in the Senate, where the group leader Maurizio Gasparri was forced to leave office to make way for Stefania Craxi, has spread to the Chamber and to the territories. After the defeat in the referendum on justice reform, Forza Italia is a powder keg. The meeting at the Mediaset headquarters in Cologno Monzese between Marina Berlusconi and Antonio Tajani - in the presence of Pier Silvio Berlusconi and Gianni Letta - began around midday and ended around 5pm. The Fi leader and the Berlusconi brothers tried to put things in order and clarify the direction of travel on the change of group leader also in the Chamber of Deputies and on the congressional season that the leader had announced.

The first knot to untie concerns Paolo Barelli, in Parliament since 2001, president of Fi deputies and Tajani's father-in-law, president of the Italian Swimming Federation since 2000 after having been Italian champion 20 times and record holder 22 times, bronze with the 4x100 freestyle relay in Cali in 1975. Elected group leader in October 2021, Draghi's government, in place of Roberto Occhiuto who had become governor in Calabria, he returned to the role by acclamation in March 2023, chosen in place of Alessandro Cattaneo, who was less close to the Tajanian wing. It was precisely the historical Roman trio - Tajani, Barelli and Gasparri - that had already been in the crosshairs of Berlusconi's heirs for months as a symbol of a party governance that was too Roman-centric. Now, after the débâcle on justice, a historical battle of the Cavaliere, the group in Montecitorio has raised the shields demanding in practice the renewal first invoked in words by Marina and Pier Silvio. Barelli's farewell is considered only a matter of hours.

On his successor there is still no certainty. The natural landing place should be Giorgio Mulè, with Deborah Bergamini and Cristina Rossello the closest to the family and the leader of the internal minority, as well as a journalist and historical signature of the Berlusconi publishing group. On the other hand, the quotations of figures considered to be mediators, such as Pietro Pittalis or Enrico Costa (who joined Fi two years ago after a passage in Azione) would have fallen. No certainty yet on Barelli's relocation: the role of undersecretary would be incompatible with the presidency of a post-rev Federation. For him, the presidency of a parliamentary commission could open up.

On the other side of the scales of the negotiation are the congresses that Tajani had already launched for April-May on the territories and at the beginning of 2027 for the national level, on the basis of a membership that has produced 250,000 registrations. Strongly opposed, however, by Tajani's internal opponents adverting the transformation of Fi into a 'party of cards' - explicitly, in this sense had been Lombardy's Cattaneo and Licia Ronzulli - because it is considered the way to armour the secretary: dissent has already risen in Campania, Liguria, Abruzzo, Piedmont, Sardinia and now it is mounted, precisely, in Lombardy. The mediation could consist in a suspension of the assemblies and a postponement of the national one until after the 2027 elections. This would leave Tajani in charge until the political elections, but in the meantime rebalancing the blue machine. All while taking care to minimise the impact on the government: at least this was Giorgia Meloni's warning in her phone calls with Marina Berlusconi in the aftermath of the referendum.